Tima's Season 1
by Tima
Summary: Set right after NIGHTMARES...Elisa returns from captivity and learns to deal with pregnancy, meanwhile Dominic Dracon plots against her and tries to steal her child from her. Please R&R...
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:  
I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_

****

_Author's note: This is the first episode after my Nightmares Saga._

**__**

**__**

**_1--"Surprise"_**

_Early December, the day after Elisa's rescue…_

The sun shone, unusually warmly for a December afternoon, through the window of the med-wing room. Elisa Maza (Dracon) lay in her bed, provided by David Xanatos, in the Eyrie building. A soft smile lay upon her lips as she slept. She was sleeping the most peaceful sleep she had had in nearly a month and a half, dreamless, but nightmare-less as well.

She could have slept another three hours, but a sudden rising in bile caused her to spring to life and make a mad dash from her bed to the adjacent bathroom, fall to her knees before the toilet and vomit profusely for nearly 4 minutes. After the wave of nausea subsided, Elisa got up from her spot in front of the toilet and went to the sink to wash her face.

As she splashed her face with the coldest of water, she couldn't help looking at herself in the mirror that was hanging over the sink. She saw that her normally golden skin was blotchy and uneven from stress (and maybe because of the pregnancy?), not to mention the numerous cuts and abrasions on her once flawless face. She touched each cut once, her trauma made real through her sense of touch. Though the cuts were already beginning to heal, their presence still reminded her of the events, and made her cringe at their sight.

She shook her head when she saw the spot that Tony Dracon's hands had held her almost to the point of suffocation; this large area had already turned black and blue. After this last sight her eyes had taken in she slowly walked back to the bed, rubbing her neck softly. She wondered what had become of Dracon. She hadn't allowed her thoughts to wander to him all morning, though she suspected he was arrested. She looked down at the wedding band that she slipped off of her left ring finger and onto her right. She was legally still Mrs. Dracon, so she should figure out how to annul the marriage. She made a mental note to ask Goliath about what became of Dracon this evening.

Getting back in to bed, pulling the covers over her, she surveyed the room. Already, there were dozens of flowers and cards from well-wishers littering the side tables in the small room. One of the most beautiful bouquets had come from her parents when they came to see her the night before. Filled with her most favourite of flowers, lilies and gardenias, the bouquet was situated in plain view of her bed, and made her smile just by setting her sights upon it.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Elisa, honey, it's Mom. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in, mom." Elisa called.

Diane Maza entered the door, carrying another bouquet of flowers, this time a dozen white and pink roses, in a vase. Elisa smiled, knowing that her mother would do anything to ensure Elisa was happy, even in the hospital room of sorts in which she found herself. She let the new vase sit upon a free spot on a rolling table near the door and walked towards her daughter. She bent down and gave her eldest daughter a big kiss on her forehead. Elisa couldn't help holding her arms out for a hug to go along with the kiss. Mother and daughter embraced for a few heartfelt moments before withdrawing from one another. Diane sat on the chair beside the bed and looked at her daughter. There was suddenly an odd look pervading Diane's normally relaxed manner. Elisa noticed this and furrowed her eyebrows at her mother.

"What, mom? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Elisa, you look different to me. I can't tell how, though." Diane said. Her gaze was still somewhat off while looking at her daughter.

"Mom, you haven't seen me in over a month. It's obvious that I look different."

Diane shook her head passionately, as if there was something amiss.

"No, no, no, Elisa, it's something else."

"Mom, I'm not feeling the best right now. What with being kidnapped and all." Elisa said, jokingly. Her mood was light, but her mother's look was about to bring an end to her light mood. Her mother's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"Elisa! Are you pregnant?" Diane Maza said, her eyes like those of a deer caught in the headlights. Elisa should have known better than to hide something of this nature from her mother, and scolded herself internally at her lapse in judgement.

"Well, uh…yes. Surprise." Elisa said weakly. Her mother's look remained cemented. Elisa became somewhat worried that her mother was going to snap on her at any moment, so she braced herself for what she might hear and said,

"Mom, say something. Please?"

After what felt like an eternity, Diane Maza seemed broken from her trance, and looked at her daughter again.

"Who is the father?" She said a little too calmly.

Elisa felt her face burning.

"Dracon is…but—"

"You mean that criminal who kidnapped you! You actually…" Diane nearly yelled.

"Mom! It's not like that! They injected me with something…"She pleaded, feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu, as if she had already gone through this exact scene with her mother. The feeling came from the nightmare that she had while in captivity in Portugal. The only difference between this moment and the nightmare was that her father was not present to share in the disapproval now. She was grateful for that.

Feeling the same reproach from her mother as she had felt in her nightmare, Elisa burst into tears unexpectedly. In the nightmare, she hadn't been able to stand up to her parent's disapproving looks and harsh words, and was afraid that this scene might end up like that one. Diane Maza had opened her mouth to retort when her daughter began crying. She closed her mouth, and her look became softer towards her daughter and her daughter's news.

It seemed like hours passed until mother and daughter spoke another word. Finally, after her sobs had quieted, Elisa had had enough of being silent. She refused to let this scene be an exact duplicate of her nightmare. She gathered all the self-confidence and self-reliance within herself and began to speak with a stronger voice.

"Mom," Elisa said, in this strengthening voice, wiping her eyes. "You know that this kidnapping was not my fault, and neither was anything that was done to me while I was being held."

She stopped to gage her mother's response. Her mother was crying herself quietly, looking down at her hands. Elisa breathed in to continue her defence, when her mother looked up at her through tear-filled eyes.

"Elisa, I am not blaming you for what has been done to you. My concern now is what you plan on doing with this child."

Elisa glared at her mother. She was suggesting either abortion or giving up this child whom she already loved and cherished so much.

"I plan on raising him or her. That's what I plan on doing, mom. How could you even ask me that?" Elisa demanded.

"You are going to carry this child to term! How? After everything that man did to you: Hurting you and tormenting you and forcing you to marry him!" Diane Maza nearly shouted at Elisa. Elisa didn't want to yell at her mother about something that was her decision to begin with. Elisa straightened her covers over her, and looked back at her mother matter-of-factly.

"Mom, regardless of how this child was created, I am already connected to him or her, and I will raise this child. After all, this is my son or daughter. I love this child." Tears were forming again in Elisa's eyes. She looked down at her stomach, and placed her hand on it.

Diane smiled at the gesture. She knew that her daughter always was, and always would be certain in her decisions, and if she had set her mind to something, she was going to stick to it, no matter what. This was turning out to be one of those times. In that second it took to think about her daughter's nature and character, she realised that she needed to support Elisa, not rebuke her in one of the most important choices in her life.

"Darling, you misunderstand my words. I am just worried about how you will raise this child on your own. It's difficult enough to have a child when you are married and in love, but in this way…" Diane shook her head. "I'm just worried about you, Elisa."

Elisa's hand went to her mother's.

"I have very good friends to help me raise this child, and ask for advice," Elisa smiled. For a split second, she thought of telling her mother that she was in love with one of those 'very good friends', but thought against it for fear of giving her mother a heart attack. iThat's a revelation for another day/iElisa thought.

"…And this child and I already have a great family to support us." Diane Maza's tears were flowing freely now, but she smiled heartily at her eldest daughter. She leaned over and hugged Elisa.

"Of course, Elisa. If this is your wish, then we are here for you and our grandchild." Diane realised what she had just said, and paused to contemplate that. "Our first grandchild…goodness, it's about time!" She smiled, and mother and daughter both laughed. Elisa thought of something and let her mother go for a second.

"Mom, don't tell dad until I am ready to tell him, ok? Promise?"

"I promise. Your father will probably react in the same way that I did at first, but he'll see it the way you see it. You two are very alike. Speaking of which, he's on his way up to see you." Diane smiled. Elisa suddenly became quiet. As if right on cue, there was a knock on the room door.  
"Hello? Are my girls in there?" Peter Maza asked outside the door. Diane answered.  
"Yes, Peter, come in." The door opened, and presented a wide-smiled Peter Maza, with his arms outstretched towards his daughter. Elisa and her father hugged momentarily. He then grabbed a chair, placed it beside that which his wife was sitting and kissed Diane quickly upon her lips.

Elisa began pondering whether or not she should tell her father now, or later. Better judgement overrode any sort of lie of omission she was concocting in her head, and she made her mind up to tell him now.

"So, kiddo, how've you been?" Peter asked his eldest daughter.

"Better, dad. I'm still a little tired from the sedative I was given, but otherwise, doing better." Elisa inhaled deeply before continuing.

"Actually, I need to tell you something, dad."

"What is it, Elisa?" Peter had no idea what this information might be, so there was a look of harmless curiosity on his face.

"Um…dad…I'm, uh…I'm pregnant, dad." She exhaled quickly. Peter's face was changed from curiosity to shock.

"What? How? When? And who is the father?" Her father asked, using his experience interrogating criminals to now ask 21 questions of his daughter.

Calmly, Elisa began.

"Dracon is the father, but it's not what you would think. I was artificially inseminated. I'm about a month along or so, and before you even ask, I iam/i keeping this child." Peter Maza leaned towards his daughter's face, as if to inspect her a little more closely.

"You sure about this, kiddo?" He asked sympathetically.

"Yea, dad, I am. You're going to be a grandfather." She smiled evenly, hoping to get a smile from him as well. She did, although his smile was larger.

"My little girl is having a baby! This is incredible! First we thought we had lost you, and now we have you back, plus a new addition to the Maza family!" Peter said happily to Diane, who was also smiling from ear to ear at this time. She squeezed Elisa's hand reassuringly. Peter bent down to his daughter and kissed her forehead, then gave her a loving hug.

"Wow, dad, I thought you'd be against this."

Peter looked at his daughter, and his look turned reflective.

"Elisa, it's like I said. I am so grateful that you were brought back to us. About this baby, it's your life, and if you can take care of him or her," he looked at Diane, smiling, "…with a little help from the grandparents of course, then I am happy that you are happy." Elisa couldn't be happier, actually. Her parents both approved of her pregnancy, she now had the love of a wonderful man—well, gargoyle—and everything seemed right in the world according to Elisa.

Elisa smiled. After a few minutes, Elisa hadn't said anything, so Peter and Diane understood that to be weariness. They got up, each kissed their daughter on the forehead, waved a loving goodbye, and left her room.

Elisa hadn't been tired, but something was making her think a little. What her mother before her father had entered the room had said stuck in Elisa's mind.

_Father and child can be very alike, can't they_, Elisa thought. _This child will never be like Tony. I will do everything in my power to prevent it. I swear it._

After her parents left her, Elisa wanted to get out of bed. She went to the bathroom to freshen up after her last nap, walking slowly. Straightening her hair as she walked, she passed by the window and looked out onto the view that was awaiting her from one of the highest floors in the Eyrie building. It was the first time she had noticed that window there since she had been put into that room, and was at once glad to have it there. As she gazed outwards, she was astonished at how high she was, and how breathtaking her city was from above. Sure, she had been to the Statue of Liberty on Staten Island, and she had been to the Empire State Building, but the view from both monuments was nothing when compared to the view from this unusually tall building. Also, the sun was in just the right position to reflect off of another building in the distance, so it made the view of Manhattan that much more breathtaking, creating shadows and more reflections here and there. It seemed like the perfect scene for a postcard to Elisa. Perhaps it was the fact that she was just been saved from death and that she was given the chance to tell Goliath that she loved him, but she was appreciating things and looking at things a little differently lately. She looked down at her stomach and smiled.

"Maybe it's because of you, Little One," Elisa said to her unborn child. As she looked upon the scene before her, she continued her speech to her child.

"When you come into this world, I will show you everything that is good and pure about it. I will teach you everything that I know, and I'll even learn more so that I can teach you that, too. I will proudly introduce you to everyone I know. You already have a few 'uncles' and 'aunts' who will help me teach you to be a good person, inside and out." A smile crept onto Elisa's lips. "And when you meet Goliath, you will love him almost as much as I do. Almost." She added.

She splashed some water on her face, and put on the robe that was behind the bathroom door. She didn't know where to go, since this would be the first time she would be walking around outside of the room, so she went to the telephone, picked up the receiver and dialled zero. A male voice came on the line that Elisa knew all too well.

"Yes, Detective." The stoic voice of Owen Burnett came on. "It is nice to see that you are up and about. What can I do for you?"

"Owen, uh…can you show me around? I'm getting sort of bored up here…"

"Certainly, Detective Maza. I will be there shortly."

After hanging up the telephone receiver, Elisa made sure her robe was presentable (It looked like one of Fox's old robes, but 'old' just meant last season to Fox Xanatos, so Elisa was dressed in high fashion so to speak.) and sat on her bed, awaiting her escort.

Once he arrived, he showed her various other floors to the building, which, to her amazement, consisted of 49 floors, not including Castle Wyvern, which extended it only three more floors. By the time her tour was over, the sun was ready to set again. Feeling up to going to greet the gargoyles, Elisa thanked Owen for the tour, and took the elevator up to the courtyard. Thankfully, the waves of nausea had not bothered her while she was being shown around. She just prayed that the feeling didn't pop up while among the other members of the clan who didn't know about her pregnancy. She didn't want to have to deal with uncomfortable questions that would most certainly arise if they saw her throwing up.

As the sun fell beyond the horizon for another day, the clan awoke to see a smiling, but tired-looking Elisa awaiting them. They each jumped off their parapets and ran towards her to hug her. Broadway was the first.

He charged at her and hugged her so tightly she felt light headed. She knew that he meant well, though.

"Elisa, I'm so happy you are alright! We were so worried!" Broadway voiced, speaking on behalf of everyone, and being right about their sentiments. Lexington hugged Elisa when Broadway had finally dropped her on her feet again.

"Yeah, I didn't get a chance to talk to you after Xanatos brought you home. You look so much better today!" Lexington added. It was now Angela's turn to hug her friend. Lexington stepped to the side to let Angela get her turn.

"Oh Elisa! Broadway is right. You scared us!" Angela cried, hugging Elisa tightly as well. Elisa didn't have a second to respond before another clan member would hug her. Brooklyn was next.

"Elisa, I'm so relieved that you are safe and sound." Brooklyn hugged her like a brother would a sister, then let go and smiled to her. Stepping aside, Hudson came up and hugged Elisa.

"Welcome back. Ya do look much better this evenin', lass." He hugged her briefly and then noticed that someone else wanted their time with her. Goliath stood behind Hudson, smiling at the scene he was witnessing. He observed as his entire clan, even Bronx who jumped up and licked Elisa's face, had come together to welcome back their human friend, and his love. Hudson stepped aside to let Goliath pass. Once in front of her, Goliath's smile was even larger. He put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you sure you are alright? Are you strong enough to walk about the castle? I am not complaining, however—"

"I'm fine, Goliath." She smiled. "Nice to see you, too. Everyone else gave me a hug, so where is yours?" She asked playfully. Goliath seemed to blush temporarily, then bent down and hugged Elisa loosely, remembering her injuries, but still with an adoration that permeated the room so that it was detectable to all. As he hugged her, he breathed in the smell of her hair and her skin. Though she hadn't been at home, and using her regular shampoos or body washes, she still somehow smelled the way he knew before her kidnapping. After letting go of her, with a permanent smile of contentment on his noble face, they all walked into the castle and sat in the common living room, where Xanatos had put two new sofas and where the large television and new computer were located. Goliath walked behind Elisa, ensuring she was alright. He would have held her hand or her arm, but he knew her fiercely independent nature, and even the slightest bit of babying would result in a lecture, even in her somewhat weakened state.

Once they were all in the castle, the clan sat as close to Elisa as they could and began telling her about what she missed during the month that she had been kidnapped. They sat for a short while, relaying events to her. Then Xanatos entered the living room area. The clan turned to face him.

"Hello, everyone. I trust you all slept well." He said cheerfully. He then turned to Elisa.

"Detective, you are definitely looking much better than last night. How are you feeling?"

"Better, too. Thank you for helping the clan take me home." Elisa said graciously. She hated having to thank Xanatos for anything, considering her history of hating him for his quarrels with her brother as well as the gargoyles, but he had saved her life, so, again she was seeing things differently, and thought it best to perhaps start anew with Xanatos. In a gesture that would have been considered an act of absolution, she reached for his hand. Xanatos smiled and shook it.

"No need to thank me, Detective. Consider it as repaying one of the many debts I owe to you and the clan. Now, I will try to repay another. Though I know that the gargoyles would greatly enjoy your continued stay here, I know that you are getting restless, and would like to return to your apartment. What concerns me is that it was quite easy for you to be kidnapped from there, so I think that perhaps we should relocate you to another building." Goliath nodded.

"Aye. That sounds like a fine idea. Your apartment is not safe. If it was that easy for someone to kidnap you from your own home, then it is best to find another home." Goliath added, ensuring he didn't use Dracon's name. He was unsure how the use of his name would affect Elisa.

Elisa shook her head. "I don't want to leave my place. I have a lot of memories there—"

"But are they all good ones?" Angela asked, cautiously. Elisa resigned, and bowed her head down. The image of that man standing over her while she lay in her bed came to mind, and she shuddered at the thought of that ever happening again. She shook her head.

"You're right, Angela. But where would I go? I don't feel up to packing my things and going apartment-hunting is not my favourite of things to do…"

Xanatos' hand shot up.

"I have everything taken care of. I have movers waiting until you say the word to pack your things for you, and move them, and I have already spoken to your parents about this as well. They will help look through listings and go with you if need be to check them out."

Elisa hated this about Xanatos; he was always prepared for your answer, regardless of whether or not it was a positive or negative one.

"I don't know…"

"Elisa," Goliath started, "You should not stay where you can be easily targeted again. Please, take Xanatos' offer." He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. She made a face, then realised that her pride could not come before the welfare of her unborn child; a child that only Goliath knew of. If she was targeted again, who knows what would become of her child. She nodded slowly and reluctantly.

"Ok, fine, Xanatos. First thing in the morning, we'll start looking."

"Excellent. See you tomorrow, then. Good evening everyone." He said, pleased. He began to walk away when a thought occurred to him. "Oh, Detective, the press will want a statement from you tomorrow afternoon. Be ready for anything, and remember what we discussed about how you were rescued…" He smiled and then departed, leaving the clan resuming their conversation about the events during Elisa's time away.

After Lexington told of how he had made a new online buddy, and how Matt Bluestone had been to visit them a few times during her absence, Elisa's stomach began to turn again. She tried to squelch the urge to vomit, but to no avail. In the middle of Hudson's discussion about how some new anti-gargoyles group called the Quarrymen had begun to recruit people through late-night television commercials, Elisa silently got up and ran towards the nearest bathroom. Goliath and Angela followed her.

The door was closed, but Goliath and Angela could hear the sounds of Elisa heaving painfully, along with the sound of the toilet flushing a few times. After five minutes of straight flushing, the door to the bathroom opened and out came an exhausted and pale Elisa.

"Elisa, are you alright?" Angela asked. Goliath looked at Elisa, searching her face for the answer himself. Wiping her chin of the water she had just splashed on her face, Elisa nodded slowly.

"Yea, I'm just sick." Elisa hoped that would stick for now. Goliath motioned for Angela to go back to the clan.

"I will take her back to her room, Angela. Tell the others she was a little tired and needed some rest." Angela agreed and walked back towards the living room. Goliath turned to Elisa, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"My love, are you sure you are alright?" He asked. Elisa's façade of being capable of walking around was finally wearing off. Her look grew tired and almost weak.

"I guess not. I think I should go back to my room now. Take me? I want to tell you about my day before I go back to bed."

"Of course, Elisa." He held her by the shoulder as they walked to the elevator.

Once back in Elisa's room, Goliath tucked her in, and brushed a stray hair from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear.

"Elisa, you need to rest. After all, you are expecting a child." Goliath said.

"I'm only a month along. Wait until I'm 8 and a half months along—I'll want to rest all the time. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about: my mom knows I'm pregnant." She replied.

"That is good. You could not keep this large a secret from her, whether you would like to or not."

Elisa nodded.

"Yea, I know, but she said something that made me think. She said that my father and I are very similar. It worried me because I started thinking that maybe this child will be like Dracon in ways that I won't be able to control. I'm scared."

Goliath smiled an assuring smile.

"This child's biology is unimportant. I have confidence that you will raise this child to be good person. Being Dracon's son or daughter will not effect how this child's character develops. I know you will make sure he or she is raised properly."

She took his hand in hers.

"And with you and the clan to be there for this child, I am sure that I will be proud of my son or daughter for the person he or she becomes."

Goliath leaned down and kissed Elisa gently on her lips. Sighing, Elisa leaned back upon her pillow and smiled at him. Suddenly remembering her mental note to herself that morning, her smile faded.

"Goliath, where is Dracon? What happened to him? Did they arrest him or did he escape?"

Goliath had been afraid of the following conversation to take place, but knew it had to be done. He inhaled deeply and began.

"Elisa, what do you remember about the last few minutes before you went unconscious?"

"I remember Dracon unbuckling his pants…why? Was he—was he planning on raping me? I can't remember. Damnit, the drugs really messed with my head. God…" Elisa put a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes. Goliath felt regret for bringing the issue up, but he felt it would be the only way she would forgive him for killing Dracon; it was to defend her.

"He intended to violate you, yes. I saw him speak to you in a manner that you should never be spoken to, ever, and then he told you he was going to consummate your marriage. I charged at him and took him to a cliff a few miles away. I was going to leave him there alone, but…all you need concern yourself with is that he is dead. I watched him die. You will never be harmed by him again, my Elisa."

Her face showed signs of relief.

"Thank you, Goliath. You are my guardian angel." Elisa said, a few tears falling from her eyes at the confirmation that Dracon was gone forever.

"You are not angry that I killed him?" Goliath asked, confused.

"No, not at all. I know I should be, because he could have been sent to jail for life for something like this, and it's my job to put away creeps like that, but I know that I would forever be looking over my shoulder, not to mention the fact that I would always be worried that he would try to take my child away. It is impossible now, Goliath. Thank you, my love. Thank you." She smiled through her tears of relief.

"You are most welcome, Elisa." Goliath reached down, cupping her cheek in his massive hand, and pressed his lips to hers again, putting an end to that conversation.

"What is wrong with Elisa, lass?" Hudson asked Angela as she re-entered the living area of the castle.

"Uh…she threw up. I don't know why, but Goliath walked her back to her room in the medical ward. She looked exhausted." Angela relayed.

"Oh, it must be that flu that they've been talking about on the news lately. It's getting around!" Lexington suggested. The rest of the gargoyles nodded their agreement. Hudson, on the other hand, put a hand under his chin and furrowed his brow in thought.

Trying to remember events from a millennium ago, he could have sworn that he had seen a human female acting in this manner. And the flu was not as common in those days. He tried to remember why she had looked so exhausted and was seen dashing to a nearby bush to vomit. Gasping as he realised why the human woman had been so ill, he rose from his recliner and began walking towards the door to see Elisa.

"Where are you going, Hudson?" Brooklyn asked.

"I need to visit with Elisa."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Father had to help her walk back to her room. She might even be asleep by now. Perhaps you can wait until tomorrow night to speak with her."

Hudson realised this was a better idea. _Maybe she doesn't know about her condition herself,_ he thought.

"Yes, lass, that will be a better idea." With that, Hudson walked back to his recliner, and got comfortable again.

_Somewhere in Queens, New York, 11:42pm…_

A short, stout man wearing a black trench coat walked along Liberty Avenue, carrying a large duffle bag in his left hand, and a folded paper in his right. He was searching for an address, which was written on the paper. He looked down to the address printed in red ink on the paper, and scanned the nearby buildings for the street number. His eyes finally closed in on the right number located on the other side of the street; it was a building that, on the lower floor, was a Guyanese roti shop. Cautiously, he crossed the street after a car passed by. As he approached the door, he made out a hand-written sign on the door, stating, "QM Meeting 11:45". Confirming that he had the right place with the sign, he knocked. Instantly, a man in a dark blue hood opened the door and let the plump man in.

The two men climbed a series of steps until finally reaching another door. The hooded man knocked on the door in Morse code for SOS, and the door opened. The podgy man nodded to the hooded man and stepped inside the room, where the QM meeting was already underway.

Looking around the room, he saw that it was an old dance studio that had been converted to a meeting room with dozens of chairs in rows, and a podium in front. In those dozens of chairs were dozens of people, both male and female. They looked like a very scattered bunch, from all walks of life. Some looked almost homely, as if they hadn't taken a shower in a few weeks, and others seemed to have come out of a fashion magazine, especially one woman who caught his eye.

She had long, straight blonde hair, a heart-shaped face, and the most sincere looking eyes he had ever seen. Low and behold, there was a seat next to her that was unoccupied. He took his chance, and sat beside her. After sitting for a few seconds, trying to think of ways to talk to her, he looked over to her and asked, "When is this meeting supposed to start?"

The blonde turned to him, and replied, "In a few minutes."

"Oh. I just got here, and I thought I might be late." He outstretched his hand to her. "I'm Ray."

She shook his hand, smiled, and said, "I'm Robin. Nice to meet you. I take it this is your first Quarrymen meeting?" Ray nodded.

"How can you tell?" She giggled a bit.

"Because you would know that these meetings are always a little behind schedule so that we can accommodate as many people walking in as possible. The more support we have, the sooner we can rid our city of the gargoyle nuisance."

That was exactly was Ray wanted: he wanted those monsters wiped out. That was the reason that he hurriedly scribbled down the address that he had seen on a commercial late at night. He wanted to do his part to make sure Manhattan was safe again.

Just then, a lean, blond man walked up to the podium. He had his hair slicked back and had a pencil-thin moustache on his upper lip. He tapped the microphone lightly, testing the loudness. The dozens of people in the room went silent at his approach to the podium.  
"Friends, I want to thank you for coming here tonight for another Quarryman's meeting. I see some new faces among us, so welcome." The blond man said, in his light English accent. Ray settled into his seat, knowing that this was where he needed to be, and that what the man was going to say would be important.


	2. Chapter 2: Going Back

_Disclaimer: _

_I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_

_**2-"Going Back"**_

_2 weeks after Elisa's rescue, December 23, 3:12pm_

Elisa Maza walked towards the Eyrie building through the lightly falling snow. She had her first real doctor's appointment to check on how her unborn child was doing today with Dr. Alban. Though he had his own practice and his own office, the Eyrie building was beginning to bring Elisa more and more comfort, and she had asked that her appointments be conducted there in the medical wing. Also, she didn't want the media or someone she knew to catch her walking into a hospital when nothing was wrong with her. She wanted to tell people about the pregnancy when she was ready: not any time sooner.

She entered the building, shaking off the snow that had rested upon her ebony-black hair and went up to the medical ward's floor using the nearest elevator.

Upon reaching the ward, she knocked upon the door to the examination room. Dr. Alban was looking over some papers when Elisa arrived.

"Hello, Elisa. Right on time, I see. Please come in." She came in, shook his hand, and took off her red bomber jacket, throwing it on a nearby chair.

"So, how are you? Still feeling nausea? Soreness?" He said, looking at some papers on a clipboard.  
Elisa nodded.  
"All of the above"

"That is normal. Your hormones are on the rise during this crucial time." He glanced at the clipboard again, and then looked up at her.

"Do you have any pets? A cat perhaps."

"Yea, I do. His name is Cagney. Why?"  
"I need to tell you not to change the litter. Have someone else do it until your child is born"  
Elisa looked puzzled. "Um, sure, why?"  
"It's called Toxoplasmosis. It's a parasite that is associated with cat litters. It causes serious birth defects, and in some cases, miscarriage." A hand instinctively flew to her stomach. Just the mention of the word, miscarriage made her wince.

"I understand. No cleaning the litter for 6 more months. I got it." Elisa said smartly. "So, what do we do now, Doctor?"  
Dr. Alban laughed.  
"Well, brace yourself. I need to take your blood pressure, a measurement of your weight, a urine and blood sample, as well as a pelvic exam to make sure everything is going smoothly with the baby." Elisa seemed anxious about the impending exam, but knew it was necessary. She swallowed, sucked in her breath, and prepared herself for all that was going to happen.

_3:50pm…_

Leaving the Eyrie building forty-five minutes later, Elisa felt slightly violated, and yet was given a sense of relief that she was healthy, but more importantly, her unborn child was healthy and growing everyday. And, as an added bonus, Dr. Alban had rented a sonogram machine (on David Xanatos' money, of course) and printed a picture of the sonogram he had taken of her child. She walked towards her car, clutching onto this first picture of her child, glancing at it briefly and beaming at it. The white splotch on the black background could hardly be considered the shape of a baby, and yet, she saw her son or daughter in that undecipherable splotch and smiled. As she approached her car, she folded the sonogram photo in half and slid it into the inside pocket of her bomber jacket. She would definitely have to show Goliath this photo tonight. However, her excitement would have to wait until her first shift back on the force was over. She got into her car, started it effortlessly, and drove to the precinct for the first time in over a month.

_The Police Station, 4:25pm_

Elisa walked into the precinct 35 minutes early for her shift, greeted by painted signs saying "Welcome Back Elisa". She walked towards her desk, bombarded by well-wishers and co-workers hugging her and waving at her. Captain Chavez was standing outside the door to her office, wearing a large grin as she watched one of her best detectives returning to her job after such a terrible ordeal. She waved at Elisa who walked closer to her desk.

"Detective, can I see you in my office, please?" The captain asked.

"Sure, Captain, give me a few minutes." Elisa said, smiling.

As she reached her desk, Elisa noticed a bouquet of six yellow roses in a box sitting on the mountain of paperwork she had to do tonight before heading on patrol with Matt. She reached over and picked up the card. It was from her parents.

The card read, "Elisa—We thought these would make your first night back a little more tolerable. We love you! Be careful out there…you know why!—Mom and Dad."

Elisa grinned as she put the card back into the tiny envelope it came in. She decided to leave the roses in the box for now. After she spoke to Captain Chavez, she'd figure out what to do with them. About being careful while on duty, Elisa thought it best to go about things as usual for now. She knew that she would have to eventually be confined to desk work for the remainder of her pregnancy and figured she could tell the Captain about her pregnancy when she started showing, instead of telling her now. Resolving not to tell her the big news, she walked over to the Captain's office, and knocked on the door.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" Elisa asked innocently.

Maria rose from her desk, pleased to see Elisa back. She motioned to the chair in front of her desk. Elisa sat down.

"Yes, Detective. First, it's great to see you back so soon. I told you that you could have taken another week off. After all that you went through—"

"Coming back is for my own sanity, Captain. I've been in the process of moving into a new apartment, but I had excellent movers that helped me set up ieverything/i, so I don't really have anything to do at home. I would rather keep busy. Besides, I knew you guys missed me while I was away." She said with a smirk, ending her sentence with famous Maza sarcasm. Maria understood.

"I see. Either way, I am glad to have you back here. And you were right; we did miss you. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. While you were gone, you know that the force kept hope to find you, but honestly, Dracon was clean in his abduction—left no trace of himself or any of his goons at your place—so when a month passed without any leads or clues, I had no choice but to hire a new detective to take your place until you were found…one way or another." The Captain seemed disturbed to say that, but she knew it had to be said. Elisa shook her head and closed her eyes tightly to try to push that thought out of her head.

"I understand, Captain. And don't worry about saying his name around me. I really have made my peace with Dracon and his memory." Elisa half-lied. "So, who is she?"

"Actually, Elisa, _his _iname is Adam O'Riley. He's a transfer from a precinct in Albany. He's been keeping Bluestone company for a few nights, and then we heard that you had been rescued. I figured we could use another body in here anyways, so he's staying. You'll get a chance to meet him when Bluestone gets back. In the meantime, there's a bit of paperwork on your desk. If you wouldn't mind…" Chavez said politely, smiling a little. Elisa nodded.

"Sure, Captain. I'm on it." Elisa said. She turned and walked out of Chavez's office, closing the door behind her.

After an hour of working diligently at the stack of papers, most of it was done, though Elisa's fingers were hurting from handwriting or typing reports. As she wrapped up another one, she heard the familiar voice of her partner in the background noise of the police station. She continued to work on the reports as she heard him approaching.

Bluestone, dressed in his regular suit and long trench coat, walked side by side with a freckle-faced man, probably in his mid-30's wearing light blue jeans and a black button down dress shirt. His short, strawberry blond hair looked dishevelled, as if he had just run after someone moments previously. They were talking together when Matt noticed Elisa sitting at her desk, completing the paperwork. Picking up his pace, Matt walked towards Elisa's desk, saying, "Elisa!" She turned her swivelling chair 180 degrees to see Matt rushing towards her. A smile graced her face at the sight of her jubilant partner. She rose from her seat and braced for impact.

He grabbed her in a strong hug. "It's great to see you!" Matt said. Elisa was grateful to Matt for not lifting her off the ground in this hug. After a moment, Matt and Elisa released each other in their embrace and faced each other.

"Thanks Matt. It feels really good to be back here." She turned to the silent freckle-faced man that stood behind Matt. "Let me guess. You're Adam O'Riley, right?" Elisa questioned. He nodded.

"That I am. It is an honour to meet you, detective." Adam said, with a hint of an Irish accent. He shook Elisa's hand firmly.

"Same here. And the name's Elisa. So, where are we headed tonight, boys?" She asked the two men. Matt shook his head.

"You two are out tonight, and I am finishing your paper work for you." Matt said, reaching for the chair that Elisa was just on and pulling it towards him. He sat down and rolled towards her desk a few feet away. Elisa was confused.

"Why?"

"Captain's orders." Adam replied. "It seems like she wants us to get to know each other." He smiled. Elisa understood the Captain's motives; she wanted there to be no chance for animosity between her and O'Riley since he was the one hired to replace Elisa if she had never come back.

"Alright, then." Elisa stretched her arms, since they had been in the same position for nearly an hour, and her back which had been hunched over the desk for the same amount of time. "I can use a little time behind the wheel of my car. Let's go, then, O'Riley."

"Please, Elisa. Call me Adam."

Another night was beginning in Manhattan, and the gargoyles awoke from their stone-induced slumber with loud, booming roars. Broadway and Angela, who had become rather close the last few weeks, walked together into the main hall of the castle to prepare the evening's meal, while Lexington and Hudson struck up a conversation about that hate group, the Quarrymen. Goliath leapt off of his parapet, half-expecting Elisa to be standing behind him to greet him as he awoke, until he remembered that today was her first day back at work, so she wouldn't be coming tonight. He would help her in whatever assignment she was working on, though. That was a given.

Goliath flew down to the lower levels where Brooklyn was leaning over the wall, staring out into the night silently, as if he were looking for something. As Goliath reached him, he caped his wings over his shoulders regally.

"Is there anything the matter, Brooklyn?" Goliath asked.

"No, we just haven't had anything exciting happen in a while. I'm kinda hoping something exciting will happen tonight"  
Goliath made a rumbling sound of agreement.  
"I would have to concur. These last few weeks have been rather dull, other than helping Elisa move into the new apartment. Well, tonight is Elisa's first night back to work."i…and her first doctor's appointment to check on the baby/i Goliath internally stated. "Perhaps we can be of assistance to her while she is doing her rounds."

"That sounds good, Goliath. But shouldn't she still be on leave for another week at least?" Brooklyn asked.

"She wanted to resume her routine sooner rather than later. Her wounds have healed, at least the physical ones. I'm sure returning to work will help her to heal some emotional wounds as well." Goliath noted.

"It makes sense. Let's get something to eat before we go. I'm sure Elisa will be fine without us for half an hour or so."

Goliath and Brooklyn soared high above the city about an hour after they finished their meal with the rest of the clan. Apparently, the meal that Broadway and Angela had prepared was so good that Goliath and Brooklyn lost track of the time. When they finally realised that an hour had passed, they hurriedly left their places and took off from the castle walls to find Elisa wherever she may be and help her in her patrol.

As they glided over Time's Square, Goliath tapped the earpiece he wore to ensure it was on and functional, in case Elisa needed to contact him. After Dr. Alban had sent Elisa home the night after her rescue, Xanatos had decided to give her a new communicator that was both waterproof and nearly unbreakable. It also had a greater defence to any sort of signal-blocking device, like the one Dracon had used at his compound to stop any signals from being detected there. Plus, the microphone on this new communicator was exceptionally sensitive; it was able to decipher conversations at a distance of almost 50 feet away. Goliath was extremely grateful for this new gift because it provided protection to Elisa that Goliath feared would be needed in the coming months. Though she was strong, Goliath knew that she needed to be watched over, especially in her line of work, and the condition that she would soon be in with her pregnancy.

Lavender and red streaks flew through the night sky majestically, in search of their human friend.

"So, how did it feel to be walkin' into the precinct again after so long an absence?" Adam asked, as Elisa turned onto Canal St.

"It was interesting, actually. I didn't know I was so loved." Elisa added playfully.

Adam giggled quietly to himself.

"Oh, yes, apparently. Ha. I was reminded every day of it. Bluestone told me a great deal about ya, and I was hoping that I would meet ya because of all the wonderful things he said about ya." As he said these words, Elisa swerved around a car that was double-parked on a busy street in front of the World Trade Center, causing Adam's seatbelt to click into place as the momentum threatened to fly him off of his seat in the direction of the swerve. He laughed. "And he told me about your driving, too. I can tell this will be quite an adventure!" Elisa, on the verge of yelling out profanities to the parked car, turned to Adam, looking amused at him.

"Matt never did like my driving…what else did he tell you about me?" Elisa asked.

"Well, things that would make someone very interested in getting to know someone. You are highly esteemed at the station. People just seem much happier now that you are back. Before, the faces were depressed and joyless. It's quite a sight to see. The transformation was incredible. Even with the Captain; she was unsociable and quiet. I was beginning to think that woman never smiled." Adam related. This was hilarious to Elisa. She immediately cracked up the second those words were spoken.

"Yea, that's the Captain alright." She managed to say between laughs. "Well, you'll have plenty of time to get to know me. By the end, you will be sick of me!" She mentioned. She already liked Adam's personality, though she knew nothing about him. There was a good vibe coming from him that Elisa couldn't really explain. He had a light heart, and already, he seemed to always be laughing with her, or complimenting her about something. She had a feeling a few more nights like this, and she would have herself a good friend. She remembered the last time she hit it off with someone at work: Matt. Though she resisted having a partner at first, she truly did hit it off with Matt, and now he was the other brother she never wanted, but knew was a good addition to her life.

As she was telling Adam about how her father and brother Derek were once police officers too, she heard a buzz coming from the communicator around her neck. Knowing it would cause questions she just wasn't prepared to answer tonight, she quickly turned off the communicator with a flick of a finger and continued driving.

"What was that?" Adam asked.

"What? I didn't hear anything." Elisa lied. Adam seemed pleased with this answer, because he then told Elisa about how his father was also a police officer in Ireland, until he was killed in the line of duty ten years ago. As he told her of this story, Elisa drove along, listening to it, feeling pretty grateful that she didn't have one of those stories to tell about her father.

Just then, as they passed Battery Park, she witnessed a group of hoodlums with guns surrounding a tourist who had come to the park to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. He was clearly a tourist, because he had the camera around the neck, and a map to the city in his hand. The goons had obviously caught onto this, and surrounded him to get whatever he had on him. The punks were hoarding around him, pushing him every so often, and laughing at his inability to fend them off.

Silently, Elisa pointed to the group as she slowed down, found a spot to park across the street and signalled Adam to get out and follow her lead. He understood everything, and waited until she began walking calmly towards the punks.

As Elisa walked, she flicked the communicator on and spoke, just knowing that Goliath was flying somewhere nearby. With her right hand, she reached for her gun, and took the safety off.

"Goliath, are you there? Ha, I know you are. Listen carefully. We are at Battery Park. There's a mugging in progress. If you are in the area, I would love to see you." Elisa whispered into the microphone sweetly. She lowered the device safely under her black shirt again, and continued walking, this time holding the gun securely in both hands, but concealing the weapon from the muggers' view.

As she and Adam approached, she called out to them.

"Boys, boys! It's really late. Should call your parents to come pick you up?"

The tallest of the muggers turned from his victim, who had still not been relieved of his personal belongings, to look at Elisa and Adam with distinct annoyance all over his face.

"Fuck off, lady. We're conducting business here. Go wash some clothes or cook or something." At this, the other goons snickered. The victim tried to escape, but the goon holding his shirt tightened his grip on the back of his shirt, preventing escape or movement.

Elisa and Adam both reached for their badges at this time. In unison, they yelled, "POLICE!" At this, all but one punk made a run for it. The poor tourist, too, made a run for it, got to the street, hailed a cab, and was out of the scene in a minute flat. The one who had spoken didn't seem phased by this bit of information. He waved his gun at them confidently.

"Good for you. I've never off'ed a cop before, but, hey, there's a first time for everything."

He lowered his weapon and aimed at Elisa. Adam cocked his gun and aimed it at the goon. "Ever been to jail, lad? Because there's a first time for that as well." Adam said, his pleasantly light Irish accent sounding more and more hardened with each word. The punk thought about it for a few seconds, then he, too, ran like the wind. Elisa began chasing after him, followed by Adam closely behind. Around her, she heard the sounds of feet trampling on fallen tree branches, bodies crashing against trees, and the roars of Goliath and another gargoyle as they chased after the running goons. She smiled, even though she was in hot pursuit of the apparent leader of this group of thugs.

The thug ran through a maze of trees, and shrubs, and made his way towards the dock where the ferry bound for Staten Island takes off from. Elisa and Adam caught up to him as he reached the dock with no where else to go. Both aimed their guns at him, and both yelled, **_"FREEZE!"_** Finally, knowing his defeat was eminent, the goon raised his hands and threw his gun towards them. Adam ran towards him, handcuffs in hand, and cuffed him, as he began reading him his rights. Elisa was completely out of breath by the time Goliath and Brooklyn reached her, with two thugs in their hands each, bound by metal rods. They were all knocked unconscious. When they saw Elisa, they dropped the thugs and rushed towards her. Goliath's face showed a look of concern.

"Elisa, are you alright?" He asked her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yea, of course. I'm just a bit out of breath after running after him." She motioned to the man Adam was escorting to Elisa's car. "Thanks for your help, guys. Adam and I couldn't have taken the rest of them alone. By the way, that's the new hire. Adam O'Riley."

Goliath looked over to see Adam using the radio in the car to call for a squad car to come pick the criminals up, since he knew that Elisa treasured this car, and probably wasn't going to be too thrilled to see a bad guy in her Fairlane. Also, it was unsafe to transport criminals in as it didn't have a closed-off back seat.  
He made a low growl of concern and turned back to face Elisa.

"I know you enjoy your job, my love. However, I do not feel that this will be safe for you soon. You should not put undue stress on yourself or the baby."

Before he could say another word, one of the goons awoke, and began to scream bloody murder at Goliath's sight, and his hand on her shoulder. Instantly, both Brooklyn and Goliath dashed off into the darkness of the park, found a tree to climb, and soared away. As he glided off, Goliath whispered into the communicator: "I will see you soon, I hope?" Smiling, Elisa replied, "Count on it." Elisa turned to the goon, with her gun pointed at him. "Shut up! Back-up is on the way, and I am getting a headache with you screaming!" She said, pointing her gun at him with one hand, and rubbing her temple with the other.

"But those gargoyle things were here! They were the ones who attacked us!" He shouted, even more loudly than before. She crouched down to him, squinted her eyes, and looked into his ugly face.

"Good thing, too, otherwise, you and your buddies would have gotten away. This city is a whole lot safer with them around to help us out."

The punk looked repulsed by her words, and memorized her face, realising that he had seen her before from somewhere. She rose from her crouched position and turned around to look at Adam, who was also yelling at the criminal he had with him. She turned to her right, where the forested area of the park was. It was a dark night, but this area made the night feel darker to Elisa. Just then, she felt a chill run down her spine as she sensed someone watching her. She dismissed the feeling, since that goon was behind her, probably still looking at her with the same hate in his eyes as a few moments earlier. Then she heard sirens, and was relieved to see their back-up coming with a proper van to take these criminals to the precinct to be booked, and shook the eerie feeling she had.

"You're that Maza chick, aren't you? The one that Tony Dracon kidnapped. Yeah, that's where I seen you from! The news!" the criminal called from behind her in broken English. She turned and looked down at him. Before she had a chance to refute or confirm his ideas, the officers in the van came bounding up to them with looks of surprise on their faces.

"What happened here, Maza?" One shorter officer asked as he crouched down to grab one criminal by the bindings.

"Someone left us some early Christmas presents, boys." She quipped. Looking at the criminal who had just identified her from the news, she saw that he was smiling; his thoughts were confirmed when the officer called her 'Maza'. The officer escorted him to the back of the van, along with the other officer who did the same with the others. Shaking her head, she followed behind them until the officers got into the van, waved, and drove off. Adam stood by the Fairlane with her keys in his hand.

"What a night, eh, Elisa?" Adam commented as she sped down Water Street.

"Yeah, I'm already exhausted. I guess I forgot how tiring this line of work can be." She said, exhaling, which turned into a yawn.

"Yes, you do look a bit tired, don't ya? Well, we've made our rounds for the night. How about we get back to the station, and we file the reports instead of continuing the beat tonight, hmm?" He patted her back in a friendly manner, showing his concern for her, though they barely knew each other.

She nodded. "Sounds like a great idea, Adam. Let's go."

He dropped her keys in her hand, and she walked to the other side of the car, while he opened the passenger side door. Elisa got into the driver's side, sat down, closed the door and turned on the car. As they drove towards the station, Elisa yawned two more times. Adam, knowing that the station wasn't too far away, laughed out loud, then said, "It was a good thing those gargoyles showed up when they did, eh?"

Elisa's eyes widened. He had seen Brooklyn and Goliath, but had he seen Goliath's gesture of concern?

"Uh, yeah, right. It was." She said uncertainly.

"Too bad they left us before I could have met them, though. I have always wanted to meet one. How are they to talk to?" _Uh oh_, Elisa thought. _He had seen Goliath with her after all_.

"Well, um, I..."  
Realising how flustered she was, Adam smiled and broke the tension.

"Elisa, I have heard murmurings around the precinct about your connection with them. I didn't believe it until I saw the pair of 'em flying over the car as we were driving over to Battery Park. They seem to be protective of you, especially the taller one. I turned a few times while I was calling for backup, and saw how he looked at you." Adam paused, sensing how uncomfortable Elisa was becoming. He smiled genuinely, and placed a hand on her shoulder—a gesture indicating to her that her secret was safe. "It's good to have a guardian angel, Elisa. I have one, too. Well, sort of." Adam pulled out a gold medallion hanging on a gold chain around his neck that had been under his shirt. While driving, Elisa glanced over briefly to what Adam was referring to, and knew that he was trying to relax her.

"This is Michael the Archangel. He watches over us police officers. My father gave me this before he was killed." He kissed it before tucking it under his shirt again. Elisa nodded solemnly at the mention of his father. She sighed, resigning to the fact that she had to come clean to him: at least slightly. She exhaled.

"Yes, he is my guardian angel. He's my best friend, too. I feel safe just knowing he's up there." A smile graced her face as she thought of the way Goliath's wings would enfold her in a protective and loving embrace. She checked herself when she felt Adam noticing the smile, and stopped smiling instantly. Adam looked out the window and beamed.  
"I feel safer now, too."

_The Police Station, 1:03am_

Two more hours went by until the reports were done, the goons were in the holding cells, and Elisa's shift was over. Thankfully, she punched out and said good night to Adam and Matt, who had just completed all the reports ten minutes earlier. As she opened the front door of the station, she breathed in the fresh winter air, zipped up her bomber jacket, and began walking briskly to her car. She was excited to get to the Eyrie building to show Goliath the sonogram picture.

_The Eyrie Building, 1:24am_

Brooklyn, Goliath and Bronx sat in the common room with Hudson, who sat in his favourite recliner. Goliath and Brooklyn recounted their adventure of sorts of the evening to Hudson. As they were telling him of the attempted robbery, a repeat of the news broadcast of the night's events came on. It included a report of a mugging broken up by "the city's favourite detective, Elisa Maza". Hudson shook his head. He discovered that Elisa was pregnant the night after she was rescued, but never felt it was the right time to ask her about it, so he kept this incredible news to himself. He hadn't even asked another member of the clan for their opinion on the matter. As he watched the television, seeing how big and nasty the muggers were, she became increasingly concerned about Elisa. She shouldn't be putting herself in danger like that when she is carrying a child. _That's it,_ Hudson decided internally._I haveta confront her tonight about it. 'Tis the only way. _Just then, Owen came to the common room, to announce that Elisa had just arrived. Goliath's eyes lit up at the sound of her name being said. A moment later, she appeared in the doorway of the common room.

"Hey guys. Thanks for your help tonight, by the way. I couldn't have done it without you." Elisa said, as she walked towards them, sliding herself out of her bomber jacket, which was wet from the snow still falling. She threw the bomber jacket on a chair, and took a seat on the sofa closest to Goliath in front of the fireplace, unaware that her sonogram picture had fallen out of her pocket when she threw the jacket on the chair.

"Hey, no problem, Elisa. That's what we do!" Brooklyn replied, his thirst for excitement obviously quenched for the moment.

Just then, Lexington, Broadway, and Angela came bounding in from the cold. They were shaking the snow off their wings and hair (or in Lexington's case, just off his head), and laughing together.

"Hi Elisa!" Angela greeted. "We're going to make some hot chocolate. Would you like some?"

"Sure, Angela, thanks." Elisa replied. Broadway and Lexington walked behind her towards the kitchen, when Angela suddenly stopped, causing Broadway and Lexington to stop as well.

"What's this?" Angela asked, bending down to pick something off the floor. Lexington examined it while it was still in Angela's hand.

"Hmm…I've seen one of these before. This looks like one of those pictures of a baby before it's born. I think they call it a sonogram."

Elisa heard this, and her eyes shot at Goliath. He, too, understood the consequences of such a discovery by the clan, and was about to get up when Broadway read something off of the paper.

"First Sonogram, Elisa Maza." He gasped. Every gargoyle in the room turned to Elisa, even Goliath. She had her fingers to her forehead and her eyes shut, making a face of embarrassment. She instantly decided that now what the time to come clean—there was nothing else she could do.

"Elisa? Are you…" Brooklyn asked cautiously.

She inhaled sharply.

"Merry Christmas, guys. Yes, I'm pregnant. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I just wasn't ready to tell you all yet."

The entire clan was silent. Lexington and Broadway exchanged confused looks, while Hudson had an almost relieved look upon his face; she knew about her condition and he wouldn't have to confront her about it.

Angela ran to Elisa and hugged her tightly, nearly lifting her off of the floor.  
"Oh Elisa! This is wonderful news! Isn't it, father?" She turned to Goliath, who had a smile on his face that was growing.

"Indeed it is, my daughter." He rose from his seat and stood beside Elisa and Angela.

One face was puzzled: Lexington.

"Congratulations, Elisa, but when did this happen? And who's the father"  
Elisa's face nearly turned red at the question. Goliath shot him a reproachful look, but Elisa regained her composure, shook her head at Goliath, and looked at Lexington to answer his question.

"Tony Dracon is the father. Rather, he was the father." She stated simply. This resulted in more gasps from the clan.  
Goliath feared the clan would get rowdy now, so he stepped in.

"We will be here to support Elisa through this challenging time, and after this child is born, he or she will be a part of this clan, as Elisa is, regardless of who the father of her child was."

Thankfully, the clan all began nodding. Elisa began to breathe easier at this show of loyalty. She grabbed Goliath's hand and held it for support.

"Thank you, guys." She took the sonogram picture from Angela and showed it to them all. "This is my first picture of my baby."

Broadway laughed. "The baby has your nose, Elisa!" This caused laughter to come from the clan that was silent a moment earlier.

_Undisclosed location, moments later…_

The tall, thin man was seated at the mahogany desk again, on his cell phone.

"Any troubles? Good. And afterwards? I know today was her first day back. Those monsters showed up, eh? Well, at least you weren't seen. We have to ensure everything goes according to plan, and that means that Mrs. Dracon lives until she gives birth to the Dracon heir. You have my instructions. Follow them, and you live. Defy me, and die along with the widow. Understand?"

The fury in his voice was unmistakable. He checked himself, calmly touching his suit jacket and the embroidered DD on the lapel, and continued the call with a more subdued voice than before.

"Good. Keep an eye on her. I'll be in touch."


	3. Chapter 3: Showing

_Disclaimer:_

_I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_

**_3-"Showing"_**

Elisa Maza awoke from her slumber on a chilly February morning, clutching onto her warm comforter, and shivering. The sun was blazing into the room through the wooden blinds which hung upon her window frame. Resolving at once to get up, she stretched her arms as far as possible without straining herself, pulled the covers back and jumped out of bed, dashing to the back of her door where her red terrycloth robe hung. Quickly blanketing herself in the robe, she walked into her bathroom and shut the door. Only a piping hot shower would help her to feel warm, since the cold could be felt, she was sure, down to her bones. Standing before the full-length bathroom mirror, she removed her robe, and hung it behind the bathroom door behind her. She removed her pyjama top and let it drop upon the floor. Bending slightly, she pulled her pyjama pants down and kicked them aside. Glancing up, she saw her complete figure in the mirror. Her skin was slightly blotchy; nothing a little foundation wouldn't even out, though she would have to ask Beth how exactly to use that stuff. She gazed lower, to her breasts, which were steadily expanding every week. She noticed today that the skin surrounding her nipples was darkened and also seemed to be expanding. _Great_, she thought. _The 'twins' will be unstoppable soon…_ Her eyes then focused upon her ever-expanding belly. Though she was only 3 ½ months along, her tummy was about the size of a grapefruit, which was the normal size for a woman's first pregnancy, according to Dr. Alban. Seeing her belly, and the impending growth she was to experience, she knew that someone would not mistake her tummy for simply her lack of exercise. She exhaled as she turned to see the full silhouette. She also realised that she would soon have to reconsider her normal attire of jeans and her tight black t-shirt, and trade them in for maternity clothes. Placing her right hand upon her tummy, a gesture she was carrying out more frequently as the months progressed, she spoke to her child aloud.

"I won't be able to keep you a secret for too much longer, Little One. I Guess I'll have to come clean to the Captain tonight." With a content smile on her face, she walked towards the shower and turned it on before stepping in. She had to pick her mother up for a breakfast date, and wasn't going to look as if she had just climbed out of bed.

Elisa and Diane Maza were seated in a timely fashion at their favourite café in Manhattan later that morning. As Elisa was looking over the menu, her hunger growing as she read and reread the names of the dishes on the menu, her mother smiled at her.

"Elisa, how are you feeling this morning? Have you been throwing up lately?" Her mother asked.

"Actually, the morning sickness has slowed down. But I was really, really cold this morning." Elisa replied, looking up from the menu.

"Elisa, it _was_ 21 degrees this morning. It's understandable that you were cold. After all, it is the middle of February." Elisa made a noise of understanding.

"I know." She replied. "Mom, how were your experiences with pregnancy."  
Diane giggled, as she reminisced about her three pregnancies. She knew this day would come, where her eldest daughter would be asking about pregnancy and what to expect, using her mother's experiences as a gauge. Laughing, she answered, counting on her fingers when she named another Maza child.

"I was always quite cold when I was pregnant with Derek, and craved salty things. With Beth, I hardly ever threw up, and I always wanted chocolate for some reason. With you, though, I was sick the entire pregnancy. I became repulsed by everything that had a distinct smell. Even cooking made me nauseous. Derek and Beth were a joy compared to carrying you, Elisa." She chuckled. Elisa couldn't help but laugh, too, at the torment she must have put her poor mother through while she was pregnant.

"Ouch, sorry mom!" Elisa giggled. The waitress came by, took Elisa's order of eggs, pancakes and 2 milk, Diane's order of hash browns, sunny-side up eggs and coffee, and left them to continue their conversation.

"Dear, it's alright. I would do it over again. Look at the woman you've become. You are strong and intelligent and determined, and your father and I are so proud of you. Those nine months of constant throwing up helped to produce the incredible daughter I'm looking at right now." She placed her hand over her daughter's on the table. Elisa became misty eyed. _Damn hormones, _Elisa thought.

"Thanks, mom." She smiled. As if she just remembered something she had forgotten, tapped the table lightly with her hand. "I think I'm going to tell Captain Chavez about the pregnancy tonight before my shift starts. I'm already beginning to show." Diane Maza seemed ecstatic with this news.

"That is great, Elisa. I didn't show when I was pregnant with you until I was nearly five months along…it's probably because you are so fit. With Derek and Beth, I began showing at around the three month mark like you are now. You will need to get some maternity clothing soon…" Diane Maza had a light-bulb moment, and her eyes lit up instantly. "After breakfast, let's go to this maternity shop in Soho. What do you say?" Elisa smiled graciously.

"Sure mom, but let's stay away from the expensive ones…remember that I have to supply this kid with unlimited diapers for the next two years at least!" They shared a laugh until the meal arrived. Elisa, being famished by then, ate everything in ten minutes flat, while her mother was still picking at her hash browns. After Diane paid for the meal, to two got into Elisa's Fairlane and sped to Soho to do some more mother-daughter bonding at a maternity clothing store.

"Elisa, what did you want to see me about?" Captain Maria Chavez asked as Elisa sat in the chair opposite the Captain's desk. She cleared her throat.

"Well, Captain, I don't know how you'll take this news, but I'll just go ahead and say it…" Maria waited as Elisa paused dramatically.

"I'm pregnant." She stated simply. Maria instantly smiled.

"That's fantastic, Elisa! Congratulations! How far along are you? And I didn't even know you had a boyfriend…" Captain Chavez began. Elisa cut her off.

"I'm actually about 3 ½ months along…" She waited for Maria to put two and two together using the timeframe. It only took her a few seconds to realise that Dracon was the father.

"Oh God." Maria looked shocked, then regretful. "I didn't know, Elisa. I'm sorry." Maria apologised mournfully. This implied that Elisa had been raped. Elisa shook her head.

"Don't be, Captain. He didn't…it was while I was there, but he didn't do that. It was artificial insemination. He is…was the father of my child, though." Elisa confirmed. Maria looked incredibly relieved that Elisa hadn't been raped, but still found it perplexing that Elisa would keep that criminal's child. She wasn't, however, in the practice of asking questions of her detectives about their private lives unless they allowed her to, so she didn't ask Elisa anything further about Dracon. She simply smiled heartily, rose from her chair, and walked around to where Elisa was sitting. Elisa also rose from her chair to meet Maria.

"Detective, you seem thrilled about this, and honestly, that's what matters. I'm so happy for you." Elisa smiled at her Captain. Maria extended her arms and, in a show of friendship, Captain Chavez hugged Elisa. After the hug, Elisa wore a pleased smile.

"Thank you Captain. Now, my question is what's to be done with me." She laughed. Maria nodded.

"Of course. Well, I understand the nature of your job, especially night shift. If you want, I can either reassign you to day shift, or I can put you on desk duty until you are put on maternity leave. Either way, this is effective whenever you feel that you can't do your regular duties anymore."

"Well, I'm still a night-owl, so I think I will prefer to be on night desk duty. But I think I'm still capable of working the beat with Matt and Adam for now."

Maria put a hand on Elisa's shoulder.

"Are you sure, Elisa? It isn't a crime to want to be on the safe side, you know"  
Elisa shook her head decisively.

"Trust me, I'm alright for now. I'll let you know when I can't work the beat anymore." Maria nodded.

"Alright, Elisa. It's your decision. Just say the word and you're on desk duty." Maria shook her hand as Elisa turned towards the door to her office.

"Thank you, Captain. I'd better tell Matt and Adam now, though. Otherwise they'll have my ass on a platter!"

"What! That's incredible! Wow!" Matt exclaimed as Elisa shared her news with him and Adam a few minutes later in her car at a red light. Adam beamed in his good-hearted way at the news and added his two cents in.

"That's quite incredible indeed! You'll make a fine mother, Elisa." Adam said from the backseat. The street light changed to green, and Elisa slammed her slender foot on the gas pedal, causing Matt and Adam to jolt in their seats.

Adam laughed a little harder. "One thing I ask, though…don't teach the child how to drive please! Leave that to a professional!"

_Meanwhile, back at the Precinct…_

Ed Kane, 'Fast Eddie' to his friends and the underbelly of Manhattan's crime scene, sat in the interrogation room in the 23rd precinct house, awaiting his lawyer to come at get him out of this mess—a mess caused by that bitch, Elisa Maza.

She was the one who broke up that mugging that he and his buddies were planning on that stupid old tourist in Battery Park about a month ago. They would have gotten away if it weren't for those damned monsters that caught up to them and beat them senseless. Fast Eddie had the upper hand against Elisa, though. He had seen that chick on the news, and recognised her once he regained consciousness, and then he saw that she was buddy-buddy with the tallest of those gargoyles. Buddy-buddy was actually an understatement—he heard that monster call her 'imy love/i'. A wave of repulsion swept over him at the thought of that cop hooking up with that…thing. He knew what he had to do when he got out of here: go straight to the Quarrymen and tell them about her. That would definitely help in getting rid of the gargoyles, and Fast Eddie would get his revenge on her in the process. As he was mulling the idea over in his head, his lawyer came in, escorted by the Captain of detectives, Maria Chavez. His lawyer sat down beside him, shook his hand and placed his briefcase firmly and loudly atop the table before him. The Captain took the seat in front of them and stared at Fast Eddie.

"Listen, Chavez, you and your officers have nothing on my client here. Your supposed witness is nowhere to be found, and your detectives have no evidence other than their 'convenient' stories. I suggest you release my client before I call in a favour at the D.A's office. Margot Yale is a personal friend of mine…" The lawyer smiled confidently at Chavez, then patted Fast Eddie on the back in premature celebration. Chavez exhaled, looking frustrated, but calm.

"I see, Williams. Here's a tip: Calling in favours will never get you a good reputation in this city."

"Maybe not, but I will have a winning reputation with my clients, and that's what counts. Now, this conversation is over. My client has a life he'd like to get back to." The lawyer rose from his seat, motioning to Fast Eddie to rise as well. "If you'll excuse us, Captain..." Chavez could do nothing but allow them to leave. Grudgingly, she followed Fast Eddie and his scumbag lawyer out of the interrogation room and silently pointed to where the criminal had to sign release papers.

About 15 minutes later, Fast Eddie was once again free and already seeking revenge against the cop who had wasted a month of his life. As he descended the front stairs of the precinct, he raised his hand and hailed a taxi. "Take me to Liberty street in Queens."

"Friends, thank you for joining us again tonight. We have been criticized for our militaristic take on the extermination of the vermin that infest our city! I am here tonight to say that our cause is a noble one! Our struggle is benevolent! Our justification is right! We must make our streets safe again! We cannot allow these monsters to intimidate us into submission! We must fight against them! Fight until the last gargoyle dies!" The lean blond man standing at the podium shouted. He had a Hitler-esque way of commanding this crowd, and fanning the flames of hatred that burned within each member's dark heart. A chorus of accord rose up from the crowd at the Quarrymen's meeting this night. The old dance studio was now filled with voices of ignorance and thoughts of murder. Every one of the dozens of chairs were filled with men and women, clad in navy blue garb—the Quarryman's uniform consisted of navy blue jumpsuit with a circle and hammer on the front, and a navy blue hood, which most of them had on during the meeting. The blond man turned towards the man standing to the left of the podium. He pointed to him. "This man, Fast Eddie, has something to share with you all! He has learned of the identity of a traitor to humanity!" The blond man then pointed directly in front of him, to another man working a computer.

A white screen fell behind the blond man and suddenly the image of a news broadcast on CNN was displayed. The headline: "Detective Maza Found Alive". Immediately, there were distinct sneers from the crowd, as they recognised her. Most of them had been relieved that she had been found safe, but their perceptions of her had instantly soured. The other man standing beside the speaker walked up to the podium.

"Yeah, this bitch is a cop, but she's chummy with those gargoyle things. I seen them together!" The crowd was furious at the notion of a human consorting with the enemy. The blond man nearly pushed Fast Eddie out of the way to regain his podium.

"I need some volunteers to check this out before we decide about what will be done about this deceitful detective." Hands shot up sporadically among the crowd. The blond man picked a few at random and motioned for them to join him at the front of the room, one of them being Ray, the short and stout man who had met Robin at one of the first Quarrymen's meetings. Once Ray and the other nine volunteers reached the podium, the man began again.

"We will gather the necessary evidence to prove that she is a traitor to our species. Once we have it, we will remove her from the equation. If she is a traitor, she will lead us directly to the gargoyles! Wish these brave men and women luck, everyone. They will embark upon a noble quest on behalf of all of mankind!"

Roars of support rang from the old dance studio. The meeting was adjourned, and the people began exiting the room. The blond man and Fast Eddie still stood at the front of the room with the volunteers.

"Thanks, mister. That was awesome. We're really gonna take her out, huh?" Fast Eddie asked the lean man.

"As sure as my name is Jon Castaway, we will eliminate her if we find she's a traitor."

_Meanwhile, back on patrol with Matt, Elisa and Adam…_

After stopping in at a coffee shop (for Matt and Adam), and then chasing after a drug dealer on foot, Adam offered to drive. Elisa was exhausted from chasing the dealer, so she gratefully allowed him to take her first love, her car, for a test drive around Manhattan. Needing to fill up the tank after about an hour of patrolling, Elisa handed him some cash, and he got out to fill the tank for her, leaving Matt alone with Elisa to ask her the burning question he had been dying to ask since she announced her pregnancy.

He turned to his partner, inhaled deeply and began.

"Elisa, I have to know: Who is the father of this kid? It isn't…"

"Yeah, Matt, it is Dracon. Don't worry, please. I know what I'm getting myself into, and I have completely thought this through. That's partly why I waited until I was 3 ½ months along before telling the Captain or you. I wanted to make sure of what I would tell you guys, but honestly, I felt the truth would work just as well as some made-up bullshit. You know, Matt?" Elisa replied. His face still showed signs of concern, but he knew that Elisa set her mind to this, and would not allow herself to be swayed to the contrary by anyone.

"Yea, I get it, partner. I'm worried about you, though. I mean, this job is not the best one for someone who's pregnant. What will happen when you really start to bulge?"

"Hey!" Elisa retorted. "When I start showing more, I will ask Captain Chavez to put me on night desk shift. That way I can still check up on our 'friends' after my shift." She smiled at her cleverness. Just then, Adam got back into the car, holding a receipt and gave it to Elisa.

"What were we talkin' bout, then?" Adam asked good-humouredly.

"How we…" Elisa's face distorted in pain suddenly. "Ooooh." She said painfully.

Worriedly, Adam turned to look at her in her seat beside him.

"Elisa, what is it? What's wrong?" Adam asked, nearly pleadingly.

"Yea, Elisa? What is it?" Matt chimed from the backseat.

"Oh God. Cramps…" She said through waves of pain originating from her abdomen. "This doesn't feel right." Adam and Matt's eyes widened in horror. They looked at each other, searching for the answer to the question that was on both of their minds, "What do we do?" Elisa hunched over in pain, clutching onto her stomach. There were now tears in Elisa's eyes from the pain shooting from her stomach. Adam instantly turned the car on, snapped the siren on the top of the car, started the siren wailing, and sped off towards the nearest hospital.

"Elisa, hold on. We're almost at the hospital." Matt soothed, holding her shoulders with both hands. She was moaning in pain now. Adam drove almost as badly as Elisa on a good day, trying to get Elisa the medical help she obviously required. Good thing the siren made everyone get out of their way, otherwise Adam would have had to dodge in and out of the lanes.

The hospital came into sight. Siren still blaring, Adam stopped the car in front of the emergency drop off. Putting the car into park, he put his hands on Elisa's shoulders while Matt stepped out of the back seat, slammed the door, and opened Elisa's door, shouting, "Help! Someone help us here!" He bent down, held Elisa in his arms, with her still holding her stomach in pain, and ran with her to the doors, where there were paramedics responding to his cries for help. They placed her on a wheeled stretcher.

"She's about 3 months pregnant. She just started getting cramps about seven minutes ago." Matt said to the paramedic who had brought the stretcher. Adam, meanwhile, had driven the car to a place slightly out of the way of the ambulances and emergency room, and ran to catch up to Elisa and Matt. Once there, he saw Elisa crying out in pain and Matt holding her hand. The paramedic was writing something on some papers while another paramedic was taking her vital signs. Adam felt helpless. There was nothing he could do to help her except pray. _That's it,_ he thought. _That's what I can do for her_. He approached her, and held her hand in his left. With his right, he reached for his Michael the Archangel pendant on the chain that hung around his slender neck. He slid the chain up over his head, opened her hand and put the chain and pendant in it.

"Elisa, be strong. Both your guardian angels are watching over you. Be strong."

Just then, the paramedics needed to take more tests. They hurried Matt and Adam away from Elisa, and pulled curtains all around her. She would remain in this room for the remainder of her shift.

_three hours later…_

Matt phoned the precinct to tell Captain Chavez of their location, and Elisa's condition. In truth, they hadn't told him or Adam much, except that the baby was fine, and that Elisa was resting comfortably. Captain Chavez was extremely worried for Elisa, but Matt reassured her that Elisa was out of danger, as well as the baby.

Another phone call needed to be made, though Matt was dreading it. He knew it had to be made, though. Elisa was, as the doctors said, out of danger, but she probably wouldn't be able to see the gargoyles that night unless she awoke in the next hour.

The stoic voice of Owen Burnett answered the phone.

"This is Matt Bluestone. Elisa is in the emergency room. Can you please tell the gargoyles? She is fine, but she almost lost the baby…"

"Baby?" Owen sounded rightly confused. Matt smacked his head at the realisation that she hadn't yet told Xanatos or Owen.

"…uh, yeah. Can you please tell them that I will be taking her home once the doctors release her? That won't be for a few hours, so unfortunately she won't be visiting tonight."

"Certainly, detective. I will deliver the news to them. They will most likely wish to know which hospital she is at."

"We're at St. Vincent's."

"Thank you, detective. Please extend our wishes for a speedy recovery." Owen answered politely.

"Will do, thanks, Owen." Matt replied. As he hung up, the doctor approached him.  
He turned to face him, and shook his hand.  
"Detective Matt Bluestone?"

"Yes, Doctor. What is going on with Elisa Maza?"

"She must have just been under stress of some kind, because there was some bleeding. We were able to stop the bleeding, but she will have to take the rest of her pregnancy easy. That baby she's carrying is one strong kid, though." He joked, causing Matt to crack a smile, too. He breathed a sigh of relief at his words. "Is Detective O'Riley in with her"  
The doctor nodded.

"One more question, doc. When can I take her home?"

"Let's give her another hour of rest, then we will assess her before releasing her. She should be ready to go in a few hours or so."

"Thanks, doc." Matt replied gratefully. He hated hospitals, and this had been a very long night.

Adam stood beside Elisa's bed, smiling when he noticed she was waking up.

"Hi there, missy. You gave us quite a scare, you did."  
Elisa yawned gently. "I scared myself, actually. I was in so much pain. It rivalled when I was shot." Shuddering, she felt something in her left hand she had been gripping while she slept. She opened her hand and saw Adam's chain, and the pendant of Michael the Archangel, the fluorescent lights above shining brilliantly against the pendant. She grinned.

"This is what saved my child. Your prayers and this angel. Thanks, Adam"

Adam bowed his head in humility.

"You're welcome, dear. I saw you going through so much anguish, and I knew that Michael would watch over you and relieve you of that pain. Whenever I am in pain, I turn to him and he comforts me. I told you before, Elisa, he watches over us police officers. He knows what he's doin'." He chuckled. She took his hand in hers, and placed the chain back into his hand.

"I believe this belongs to you. Thanks for the loan, Adam"  
"Anytime." Adam replied.


	4. Chapter 4: What's In a Name?

_Disclaimer: I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and other original characters. All others are owned by Disney. Please don't sue me._

**_What's in a Name?_**

One month after Elisa's near miscarriage, she sat in the library of Castle Wyvern on a cold March night with a baby name book opened in her lap. She was seated very comfortably upon the sofa that was situated in front of a fireplace, with her legs folded under her. The fire was crackling softly, burning warmly, and creating a comforting feeling that was hard to keep awake to. Elisa wasn't overly tired, but she was beginning to yawn consistently. Her belly was rapidly expanding, and she was growing in fatigue every day from carrying this child, who now weighed a little under a pound.

Every so often, she would turn the page, inspect the different names and meanings on the pages in front of her, and smile to herself. She turned another page—she was now on girl names. Then, heavy, yet graceful footsteps could be heard walking towards her.

"Elisa, are you here?"

It was Goliath's gentle yet strong baritone. It instantly commanded a smile on Elisa's face.

"Yea, Big Guy, I'm here." She called. He turned the corner, and reached the sofa as she was flipping the page. Goliath stood before Elisa, with his wings draped majestically over his mighty shoulders. A smile appeared upon his lips when he saw her face.

"What are you reading, Elisa?" Goliath asked as he sat beside her on the sofa.  
"It's a baby name book. Officer Sanderson let me borrow it. I wanted to give my child a name that has great meaning and purpose, and not just one that I liked." Elisa gestured to the book in her lap. "I'm looking at girl's names right now. I have a few in mind. Help me?" She asked with a grin. Goliath returned the grin and put his arm around her.

"My love, I would be happy to help in this endeavour. Have you any names in mind?"

Elisa turned another page while stifling another yawn.

"I came across a few. I particularly liked 'Breanna'. It means 'strong, virtuous, and honourable'."

Goliath chuckled in a way that was totally his own.

"That would be an excellent description of you, my Elisa." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. Though she was becoming more and more used to Goliath's romantic gestures lately, she still blushed when he did simple little things like kiss her hand. She looked into his onyx eyes, and smiled from her heart. Returning her focus back upon the book, she turned another page in the book upon her lap that had gone unnoticed for the minute that she had stared into Goliath's eyes. Clearing her throat, she began reading some names before her.

"Hallie…heroine. Hmm…" Elisa murmured aloud. _That would make sense if this were Goliath's child._ She couldn't help but smile at this thought. She returned her glance to the page, and her eyes landed upon the name "Hanna: Goddess of Life. Wow, that would be pretty and important, since she—if she **_is_** a she—helped save my life…Hanna Elizabeth Maza—What do you think of that one, Goliath?" She asked, turning to him.

"It sounds fitting." He said simply. Elisa said it a few times before deciding upon it. "Hanna Elizabeth Maza. Hanna…yea, that's a definite possibility." She then flipped to the half-way point in the book. "What about boy's names? Anything you like in particular?" She asked.

"Hmm…I have always liked the name 'Gareth'. Would that book tell you the meaning for that specific name?" "I think so, let me check." Elisa turned a few pages until she reached the G section in the book.  
"Oh, here it is. It means 'gentle, watchful'. That's a nice name. Let's see some others…" Elisa coughed, causing Goliath to switch into protective mode. He had become endlessly more protective since her near-miscarriage a month ago, not willing to let her out of his sight for more than a minute if he could help it. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the last month that would necessitate him to be too worried about her; however, his caring nature had not diminished even a fraction. Since they had learned that she was pregnant, the clan also felt quite protective of her lately, but not as much as Goliath was now.

"Do you need some thing to drink? Some tea, perhaps?"

"Actually, I've had a craving for hot chocolate all night." She stated. Goliath nodded, rising from his seat.

"I will have Broadway show me how to create that for you, my love." She sighed in contentment.

"I never get tired of hearing you call me that, Big Guy. I used to dream of you calling me something infinitely more dear than just 'friend', and now, I'm living my dream." She felt giddy with the happiness of being with the man—or gargoyle, rather—that she loved. Their confession of love had made her world greatly more bright and beautiful, and her more willing to express her happiness outwardly in the form of giggles and sighs. Goliath's world had also changed for the better: though he had always been sincere and compassionate, these traits had become more pronounced and he could no longer hide his love for the detective from the other members of the clan, though they had suspected of his love for her before he even knew of its existence.

"As am I, Elisa. I am happier than I could have ever dreamt I could be a millennium ago. It is because of you." Goliath smiled, bent to Elisa's eye level again, and kissed her forehead gently before leaving the library to make her hot chocolate.

**_Meanwhile, in Queens…_**

Fast Eddie sat in at another Quarrymen's meeting, listening to that lean, blond man rant about the gargoyle nuisance and how they were to be eliminated using the human traitor as a means to track them down. First, however, they needed Fast Eddie to provide the proof that she was a traitor before they could take her out. Though Eddie was very interested in getting back at the cop for arresting him, and knew that this Castaway guy would help him get rid of her, he was getting rather bored with this particular speech; he had heard several exactly like it over the last week and almost knew it by heart. He suddenly decided to leave and make a few quick bucks elsewhere. He rose from his seat in the meeting, and exited the old dance studio.

Once outside, he walked along the street with his hands deep in his jeans pockets. He passed a few stores before passing a jewellery store that only had one salesclerk on duty—a young girl, about 22 years old with short brown hair and glasses. Eddie smiled to himself. He continued walking along the street for two more blocks, pulled out his cellular phone and dialled a frequently-used number from memory.

The line rang. A man answered the phone.

"Hey, it's Fast Eddie…Ya, I've been out for about a month now….I've been busy, but listen, I'm broke right now...you are too, huh? Want to make some cash? I think I've got an easy way…round up two more guys and meet me on Liberty and 91st in half an hour. Make sure you're all packing and have ski masks with you."

**_Back in the Library…_**

Goliath returned twenty minutes later with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and a small plate with five oatmeal cookies. However, when he returned, Elisa had fallen asleep, with the name book opened in her lap. Goliath hated to wake her, since she slept so peacefully. She looked to him as a delicate angel, taken by weariness to the realm of dreamers. Her shining blue-black hair lay upon the back of the sofa, splayed out like a fan behind her head. He sat quietly beside her, placing the plate and cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table beside the sofa, mindful not to wake her with his movements. He shifted beside her, turning to get a closer look at the sleeping angel that sat before him. Goliath raised a hand and slowly moved a stray hair from her face, looping it behind her ear and stroking the soft skin on her cheek with one talon. Just then, she stirred in her sleep. A smile crept upon her face at his touch. Goliath smiled, and studied her face. Her eyes then fluttered open and focused upon her love.

"Hi, Big Guy. Did I fall asleep"  
"Yes, Elisa. I am sorry that I woke you"  
"No, it's fine. I didn't know how tired I was." Elisa said, straightening up. Her eyes fell upon the hot chocolate and plate of cookies. She deeply inhaled the smell that was steaming from the mug. "Mmmm…that smells amazing." She said, reaching for the cup on the coffee table. She took a sip of the warm liquid and smiled.

"How is it? Did I put enough chocolate powder? I also used milk, though the directions said to use water." Goliath mentioned.  
"Tastes as good as it smells. Thanks." She blew on the liquid to cool it down a bit before taking three more sips in silence. She looked up at Goliath, who was staring at her lovingly. "You need not thank me. I am always happy to do anything for you." He put his arm around her again, and she leaned her head on his mighty shoulder as she breathed in his musky scent. It was a mixture of new leather and the scent of her shampoo. If she could, she would breathe in this smell all day instead of scent-less oxygen that didn't remind her of Goliath.

After a few minutes of cuddling upon the sofa, she smiled, and then bent to the floor where her bomber jacket was. She reached into the pocket to find her cellular phone. "I think I should call Matt. I'm enjoying myself here with you way too much…I'm starting to forget about the night shift." Elisa said, with the smile still on her lips. She dialled the number and waited.

**_…elsewhere, on their way out of Manhattan_**

Matt and Adam were patrolling the streets in a squad car. Matt had gotten a call from a friend of his in Queens named Ravi; he thought he saw Quarrymen activity, and Matt had enlisted Adam's help to check it out. He didn't want Elisa's bias against the Quarrymen and what they represented to cloud her judgement of the situation—that is, if they found anything in Queens. So, Matt badgered Elisa to take a night off, and she thankfully had listened to him tonight. She took tonight off, and it gave him and Adam a little time to talk about her while they went to check out the tip…

"So, Elisa's been thinking of names for this kid. I personally like the name Matthew." Matt chuckled. Adam laughed lightly.

"Matt, my friend, I don't know that she would consciously name her child that. The alliteration alone would deter me…Matthew Maza…no, no, no…Besides, why would she name him Matt when she can name him Adam? It's a fine name, don't you think?" They both laughed at this bit of humour.

"Whatever she names this kid, he's going to be a great addition to her life. She seems too wrapped up in work, you know?" Matt asked. Adam nodded.

"Yes, I've noticed this. She takes her work very seriously. A child would surely change things in her life—for the better. And her…friends would help her raise this child, right?" Adam asked Matt cautiously as he turned the corner, and picked up speed to get onto the Van Wyck Parkway.

"The clan? Yeah, I know they will help as much as they can. They all love Elisa, and will love her son or daughter just as much. But I just can't get over the fact that she's actually going to be a mom, you know? I still can't picture her with a baby in her arms. Not that I thought that she'd never have kids…" Matt trailed off.

"I understand, Matt. Things will change once she has the child a few months from now. You'll wonder how you ever thought that." Adam laughed. Matt drove a few miles over the speed limit, and followed the directions to get to the New York City borough of Queens. By subway, it would take about 45 minutes to get there, but by car, it happened to be considerably faster. Within 15 minutes, they were off of the Van Wyck, and were headed to Jamaica Avenue, a predominantly Caribbean neighbourhood. Ravi lived in a house off of Jamaica Ave, so they were almost there. The evening was busy in this part of Queens, as usual. Matt had to use evasive driving tactics on more than one occasion to avoid hitting cars. Though he and Adam could have issued a few tickets along the way, they had more important things to do, like follow up on a lead that could prove to put away a growing terrorist group.

Matt turned onto his Ravi's street, slowing down to check the house number. A few houses down, he could see his blue Toyota parked in a driveway. Matt pointed.  
"Over there." They drove and parked on the side of the street.

"Hey, Matt. Long time no see, buddy. How you been?" Ravi asked, ushering the two detectives into his home. They entered, and he quickly locked the door behind them.

"Good, Ravi. This is Detective O'Riley." They shook hands.

"You guys are here to check up on what I told you a few days ago, aren't you?" Ravi asked. The two detectives nodded.

"Yeah, Ravi. Can you show us the area you think you saw one of the Quarrymen?"

Ten minutes later, Ravi, Adam and Matt were driving in Ravi's Toyota along Liberty Avenue. Ravi directed them to where he saw a Quarryman in a dark blue hood, and carrying a large hammer. He explained how he had seen this man at around 11:30p.m and he seemed in a hurry to be somewhere. He didn't trail him, for fear of being seen. So he made a mental note and drove home. After a few minutes of driving back on forth on this street to possibly catch one dashing somewhere and finding no one, Ravi drove the three back to his home where Matt and Adam said their goodbyes and thank you's and left.

"Nice fellow, that Ravi." Adam mentioned as he got into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, he's a good guy. But he wouldn't send me on a wild goose chase if he hadn't actually seen one of those fanatics around. I guess we'll have to come around this area more often, huh?" Matt said, as Adam turned the corner back onto Liberty. Matt shot a confused look at Adam. Before he could say anything, Adam smiled.

"Let's check once more."

They drove the speed limit along Liberty Avenue, which is situated for many blocks under the subway line. Adam was about to make mention of how strange this was when Matt got a call on his cellular phone.

"Bluestone?"

"Matt, it's Elisa. How's everything tonight?"

"Alright. Kinda quiet. We're in Queens right now investigating a lead on…a case. What are you up to"  
Matt heard giggling from Elisa.  
"Nothing. I just took a nap and now I'm drinking hot chocolate with Goliath. Remind me how great working at night is again"  
Matt couldn't help but laugh at this remark. "Alright, smart ass. It's wonderful working the night shift. Especially being with your two best **_human_** friends." Matt laughed, causing Adam to laugh at this, too. As they passed a jewellery store, Matt pointed suddenly. What he was pointing at was four young men wearing ski masks pointing handguns at a lone clerk. Adam slammed on the brakes.

Before Elisa could say anything else, she heard Matt say, "Look!"

"Matt? What's going on?"

She heard tires screeching. "What is going on, guys!" Elisa nearly yelled into the phone. Matt was reminded that he still held the phone in his hand.

"Sorry, Elisa. We're passing a jewellery store on Liberty and 91st, and I just saw a hold up in progress. Call you after."

"No! Matt! I'll be right there! I'll get Goliath to—"

"Elisa, don't worry. This is your night off. We'll be alright. I'm going to call for back up now. Stay there! We have to check it out first. I'll call you after at this number. Bye." With that, Matt abruptly hung up.

"Hello? Matt? Damnit!" Elisa said, slamming the phone on the sofa.

"What is the matter?" Goliath asked.

"Matt and Adam are about to stop a jewellery store hold-up. Can you take me to them? They are in Queens on—"

"Elisa, are you certain you want to go? This is your night off."

"Goliath, these are my partners—my friends. I can't let them walk into a situation like that without backup. Please, Goliath. Take me to them?" Elisa asked, rising from her seat and grabbed her bomber jacket from the floor.

The resolution in her voice was unmistakable, and Goliath knew that there was no arguing with her on this issue. Over the last few months, she, Adam and Matt had become like siblings. If her partners were in any sort of danger, he knew that she wouldn't rest until they were safe. He likened it to his clan. He would rush to help any of his clan if they were in the same situation. These detectives were of iher/i clan.

She searched the room for where she had hung up her gun holster. Goliath silently pointed to the hook high above the fireplace. It was hung there to keep it out of any child's reach (namely Alexander Xanatos). He walked over, got it and handed it to her. She put on the holster effortlessly. She checked her gun to ensure it was loaded and the safety was on, for now. She then put her bomber jacket on. She wanted to zip it up, but her growing belly would cause the jacket to be too tight around her midsection, and she was showing a lot more recently, so she decided to leave it unzipped.

"Thank you for understanding, Goliath." She said, as they hurried to a window to soar towards Queens. As she wrapped her hands around his muscular neck and he bent slightly to pick her up, she kissed his lips passionately.

"It is nothing, my Elisa." With Elisa in his protective arms, he jumped out the window, unfurling his wings to catch a wind current. Once caught, she pointed to where Queens was in relation to the Eyrie building, and they soared through the night air in the direction of Queens, New York.

Matt and Adam crept towards the side of the jewellery store, out of the range of sight of the robbers.

"What now, Matt?" Adam whispered, gun in hand.

"I called for back up, but dispatch said there was a large pile up on the Van Wyck that has many of the available officers tied up. We're on our own for a while…" Matt replied.

"Bloody hell." Adam swore as he walked closer to the scene of the robbery. As he approached the display window at the front of the store, he turned his head enough to make sure that the thieves couldn't see him. Adam pressed his ear to the glass to try to decipher any conversation within. He heard muffled cries, most likely coming from the clerk.

"Shut it, bitch!" One thief yelled, slapping the distressed girl hard on her face.

"Hey, Eddie, don't rough her up. We just want to get as much as we can get and scram!" Another thief told the first.

Adam's eyes widened. He had recognized the voice inside, but only put two and two together when the other thief addressed him as Eddie.

Adam turned to Matt, who was scoping out the surrounding area, with his gun still drawn. "Fast Eddie is in there!" Adam whispered as loudly as he could without actually speaking at a normal level.

"Shit! He doesn't keep his nose clean for too long, does he?" Matt answered.

The voice began again from inside.

"Hey, wasn't I the one who told you three about this job? I'll do whatever I want! And if I want to off this chick right now, I will!"

Matt and Adam both heard a gun cocking. "We should get in there before things get bad." Adam nodded.

Instantly, Matt and Adam ran towards the door of the jewellery store, aiming their guns at anyone in a mask. "**_POLICE! FREEZE_**!" They shouted in unison. Immediately, one of the thieves aimed and fired his gun. Anticipating this, Adam and Matt were prepared, and each ducked to opposite sides of the front door of the shop just in time to avoid the shot.

"Shit! Cops! What the fuck do we do now, Eddie?" Another thief asked Eddie.

"Shut up and let me think!" Eddie replied, still holding his gun.

"What now?" Adam asked, looking at Matt from his crouched position against the wall.

"I guess we wait for back up." Matt answered hesitantly. As he was crouched, he leaned a bit to see what was going on inside. He didn't see anyone, but suddenly saw a head pop up from behind a jewellery counter and a hand holding a gun. The thief fired, narrowly missing Matt's head. Matt ducked again behind the wall.

"Damnit. This is going to be a shoot-out unless we do something." Matt said, looking over at Adam. They heard and saw more shots zoom through the opened door.

"This is the police! Give yourselves up, or we'll be forced to open fire." Adam shouted towards the store.

"Do it, and this broad is dead." Eddie shouted back amidst the muffled cries of the petrified girl. Another few shots whizzed by them.

Inside the jewellery store, the thieves were pacing anxiously in the back room of the store. They knew that this wasn't going to end well, one way or another, but didn't dare voice their concerns to Eddie, for fear of him turning on them. One of the thieves stopped pacing and looked at Eddie, who was crouched near the back of the store behind a counter.  
"We're just going to wait here for the cops to come in and arrest us"  
"Fuck no, dumbass. We got a hostage. They won't think of putting this chick in danger. That will be how we'll out of here, boys. We're going to make a run for it when I say so."

Above the borough of Queens, Elisa and Goliath glided on the currents of wind. Elisa knew exactly where they were. As Liberty Avenue came into view, she pointed in the direction of the jewellery store. They made their landing a few blocks away in an alleyway. Goliath allowed Elisa to get on her feet, and began to climb the building to get back into the air. He would keep surveillance of her from the rooftops as usual. She tapped the communicator around her neck and the earpiece in her ear to ensure it was on. "Goliath, can you hear me"  
"Yes, Elisa. I will be watching you. Be careful, my love"  
"You too, Big Guy."

She walked briskly down Liberty Avenue until she noticed the squad car that Matt and Adam were using, parked on the opposite side of the street. She ran across the street to the car.

As she arrived at the parked car, she had the most eerie feeling that she was being watched. _Silly,_ she thought. _Goliath is up there watching over me. Shake this anxiety. Goliath is watching me, no one else…_She shrugged it off and looked around her and the car for any clue of where Matt and Adam were.

Just then, there was a gun shot that rang out in the night. Panicked, she followed the sound of the shot. There were Matt and Adam, crouched on either side of the front door of the jewellery store, with their guns drawn. Relieved to no end that she had found them, she walked quietly but quickly towards the store.

"Guys!" She nearly whispered. Both detectives turned to see their noticeably-pregnant friend rushing towards them. Matt scowled.

"Elisa, why are you here? I told you we would be fine!" Another shot zoomed by Matt's face.

Elisa shook her head. "Ya, it's obvious you two are fine. Where's your backup?" Elisa lectured.

"Busy." Sirens started being heard all around them.

"I guess they were just freed up." Matt smiled.

"They have a hostage?" Elisa questioned. Adam nodded. "Damn." Elisa replied. She tapped her earpiece.  
"Goliath, did you hear that"  
"Yes, Elisa. We must help that clerk." Goliath answered.  
"Just stay up there until I call you"  
"Alright, my Elisa. I am ready for your word."

Just then, Matt decided to get brave. "Our backup will be here within a minute. Surrender the girl now, and we'll go easier on all of you!" He yelled.

"Alright, cop! We're coming out with the chick." Eddie rose from his crouched position behind the counter and grabbed the terrified clerk. He positioned her in front of him, with his hand gun jabbed at the side of her head. The other thieves were in awe—Eddie had more balls than brains. He walked slowly towards the door. "Come out, come out, wherever you are cops!" Eddie yelled. "I got the girl here. Shot me and you kill her."

Matt, Adam and Elisa had their guns ready. All three rose from their crouched position and aimed their guns at the thief, though, really, they were aimed at the hostage. They were all silent until Elisa spoke.

"Let her go. There are about 5 squad cars coming. I'm not bluffing, either, because you can hear them." She said, lowering her weapon slightly.

Fast Eddie instantly recognized Elisa from his nightmares and his arrest a few months back. Anger began boiling in his blood. His rage was uncontrollable. He also saw his way of escaping unscathed. The next events happened in a matter of a few seconds, and barely had time to register with anyone until it was too late.

Fast Eddie pushed the hostage to the side, causing her to slam into the wall head first and be knocked unconscious. He then aimed his handgun at Elisa. "Die, bitch!" He screamed maniacally. He fired his gun at Elisa.

"**_NO_**!" Adam screamed as he ran and pushed Elisa towards Matt and out of the bullet's path. Matt caught her before she could fall to the ground. Adam took the bullet in the stomach and was falling to his knees as Eddie and his thieves were making a run for it out the front door.  
"Adam!" Elisa screamed.

Matt began running after the thieves as Goliath landed at Elisa's side. She looked at him, said "Help Matt" and ran to Adam's side. Goliath began running on all fours, following Matt.

Adam was seated upright against the wall. Elisa kneeled down beside Adam, examining him quickly before speaking. He was holding his stomach with both hands, and was instantly pale and clammy. Elisa's hands immediately went to his on his stomach. She looked into his greying eyes and saw fear.  
"Adam? Oh my God. Don't worry—backup is on its way. You're going to be fine, Adam. You listening to me?" She demanded.

He managed a smile through the searing pain he felt. He brought his right hand, covered with his own blood, to the pendant around his neck and yanked with all his strength until the chain snapped and was freed. He held the pendant and chain in his blood-soaked hand and looked into Elisa's deep brown eyes. She looked back, and saw the look of awareness and acceptance of the gravity of his situation in his dulling eyes.  
"Elisa, give this to your child. He or she will need it more than I will now." She opened her hand and accepted this gift.  
"No, Adam, don't say things like that. This is nothing." Sirens in the background. "See? Backup and an ambulance are almost here. Just hold on 'till then. Please?" She pleaded with Adam.  
"This is it for me, dear. Now you've got three guardian angels protectin' ya." He coughed, and a trickle of blood fell from his lips. At the sight, Elisa's eyes began to tear up. Adam breathed in his last breath, and his eyes closed for the last time. His head collapsed upon his chest. Elisa could not believe it.

She shook his shoulders unbelievably, screaming his name. "Adam! Please, God! Adam! NO!" She said between sobs, bowing her head to the ground. Just then, another officer came up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Detective Maza? The ambulance is here." The young man said sympathetically. He had seen her reaction to Adam's death. Elisa turned to face the young officer, and rose from her kneeled position calmly, with tears still falling from her eyes. She inhaled deeply, regaining her composure. "Thanks." She replied and then began walking in the direction that Goliath and Matt had gone. She began running, hoping to help them catch one or two of the thieves that helped to cause Adam's death. Every alley she passed, she would look into to make sure they weren't there. After 3 minutes of running, she reached a park area. She surveyed the area before hearing gunshots and the sound of bodies crashing in the distance. She pulled out her gun again, and turned off the safety. Walking slowly, she wandered deeper in the park area.

"You're still walkin', huh?" Elisa heard from behind her. She turned to see Fast Eddie, with his ski mask off, pointing his gun at her again. "Well, not for long. Payback's a bitch!" He screamed. "It was you! You killed Adam!" Elisa replied, aiming her gun at his head, but shaking at the same time. Eddie was sauntering closer to her every second, his gun aimed at her stomach, intending to cause her immense pain. A gunshot to the gut was probably one of the slowest deaths anyone would have the misfortune of enduring.

"I was meaning to kill you. I'll fix that right now." He said maliciously.

Suddenly, a black limousine came speeding out of nowhere, jumped the curb, and ran over Fast Eddie mercilessly. Stopping briefly to inspect the damage it caused, the limo then took off, causing the wheels to squeal and smoke. Elisa was awestruck at all that had just happened. She ran to where Eddie lay, battered and broken, and already dead on impact. Still, she checked his pulse on his carotid artery. She turned her attention to the limousine—it was so dark that she couldn't see anything, but she could make out the license plate: DD. Puzzled, and knowing that she couldn't possibly chase after the limousine now, she gave up and walked away from the remains of Fast Eddie's body, on which rigor mortis was already setting in. She resigned to sit beside a tree and wait for Matt and Goliath, keeping her eyes away from the gruesome scene. She began feeling the fatigue that came with trying to run around while nearly 5 months pregnant. Thankful for a moment to rest, Elisa leaned back against the tree, placed a hand on her stomach and closed her eyes for a few moments. Just then, Goliath landed beside her, holding two unconscious thieves. Dropping them to the ground, Goliath picked Elisa up in an embrace that she desperately needed. She had just seen one of her best friends die before her and had someone try to kill her twice before watching him die as well.

"How is Adam?" Goliath asked, but regretted asking when he looked into her eyes, which were filled with sorrow and pain.  
"He's dead. Oh god, he's gone. It all happened so fast, and we couldn't do anything to stop it!" She cried into Goliath's strong shoulder. All he could do was hold her. There were no words to express his sympathies for the loss of her friend, a member of her clan. He stroked her hair, and then wrapped his wings around her in a protective cocoon that always helped her feel safe and secure. He felt her sobs as they shook her in the protection of his wings and his arms.

He heard footsteps, released Elisa from his protective embrace, and turned to see Matt holding onto a handcuffed thief. Matt had the look of someone who had had their family name insulted.

Elisa walked to Matt, who handed the criminal to Goliath. Upon seeing Goliath, the thief fainted, which made it easier for Goliath to keep an eye on him. He picked up the unconscious thief and dropped him with the others. When he turned back to Elisa, she and Matt were locked in a quick embrace.

"It's not your fault, Elisa. Don't say that. Adam knew the risks of being a cop in New York City. Please don't blame yourself." Goliath heard Matt say as he released Elisa. She folded her arms in front of her and looked to the sky in silence.

**_Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location…_**

Dominic Dracon, an old, whithered man sat at his mahogany desk, watching CNN as usual when he received a phone call. Breathing heavily, he picked up the phone and pressed a button.  
"DD…yes, I heard about this incident. Mrs. Dracon is not injured, right? You ran over the man who was about to shoot her? Good. You get to continue to live. Kudos on being able to track her. With that monster she is always being connected with, she's harder and harder to trace, eh, old boy? Yes, well, keep up the good work, and I won't have to kill your wife." With that, Dominic pressed another button and hung up the phone.

"Soon, my grandchild, soon. Soon you will be with your rightful guardian; a true Dracon."

**_Three days later…_**

Elisa dressed in the police uniform that she had not worn since before she was promoted to detective. The light blue button down shirt fit tightly over her belly now, so Captain Chavez offered her a 'large' to wear just for tonight. She buttoned it up standing in front of the full length mirror. She then clipped on a long dark blue tie to the collar of the shirt. Adjusting it slightly, she turned her head to the left to find her cap. She tied her long blue-black hair into a ponytail before picking up the standard 8-point police cap and placing it upon her head. She exhaled as she saw herself in the mirror. The last time she had to dress in full uniform was for a funeral held for a fallen officer from Brooklyn, and now she had to wear the uniform again for Adam O'Riley's funeral.

She left her apartment at around 9:15am. The funeral was scheduled to begin at 10a.m, but Elisa and Matt had to be there early to be with Adam's mother and sister, as they were his partners.

Before she left her apartment, she touched the chain and pendant she had placed around her neck to ensure it was still there—it was St. Michael the Archangel.

The funeral was attended by all the major players in Manhattan—the mayor, the assistant D.A, Margot Yale, and even David and Fox Xanatos were in attendance to show support for Elisa and Matt. The mass was nearly 25 minutes long, and afterwards, it was ended by Adam's mother giving a speech about his life and how his dream was to be a police officer, just like his father. Now, she said, they were together. She had to be helped off the altar. After this emotional speech, Elisa decided to say a few words. Tearfully, she stood up to the podium on the altar, looked into the crowd of strangers and friends in the church and recited a prayer that she felt suited Adam well:

"_We little knew that evening _

_God was going to call your name, _

_In Life we loved you dearly,_

_In death we do the same._

_It broke our hearts to lose you,_

_You did not go alone._

_For part of us went with you. _

_The day God called you home._

_You left us beautiful memories._

_Your love is still our guide._

_And though we cannot see you,_

_You are always by our side_."

After she had finished the prayer, the people in the church said 'amen', and she stepped down from the altar, motioning to the priest behind her that she was done. The ceremony finished soon afterwards, and Adam was taken to his resting place in Albany, where his mother and sister lived.

**_That evening, right before sunset…_**

Elisa sat in the living room of the castle, awaiting the sun to set so she could tell Goliath of her day and the funeral. She was still dressed in her uniform, with the large button shirt untucked from her pants, because even this shirt was beginning to feel tight on her. Her mind was constantly in action, mentally recapping all the days' events, and the week's events, including the last thing Adam said to Elisa before he breathed his last breath and saw no more. Just then, the sun set, and she heard the roars of the gargoyles waking from their stone-induced slumbers. One by one, the clan filed into the castle's living room and surrounded Elisa. They all knew that she had been to Adam's funeral, so they knew not to be too cheerful tonight. Goliath was the last to enter the room. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"How was it, Elisa?" He asked simply.

"It was…" Elisa tried to find the right word to describe the service and burial. "…sad. I mean, it was a funeral for a good friend. He was not only a good person, but he was a good cop. And he saved my life and the life of my baby by pushing me out of the way..." Elisa said, resting her left hand upon her tummy. "…which is why I would like to name my child Adam if it's a boy. What do you guys think?" Elisa asked optimistically. Sympathetic smiles emanated from the clan.

"Good idea, Elisa." Angela said.

"Yeah, I like that name." Lexington chimed.

"'Tis a fine and fitting choice of names, lass." Hudson added.

Goliath smiled down at Elisa. "Yes, Elisa. It has great meaning, and in a way, he will live on in your son…if it is a boy, that is." Goliath stumbled.

"I'm glad you guys like the idea." Elisa said with a small smile.

Off in the kitchen, while preparing the evening's meal selection, Broadway had solicited Angela's help, as usual. As the pots simmered and expelled their wonderful smells, Broadway turned to Angela.  
"Angela, do you think it's time we told Goliath about us? I don't know if anyone believes this story we have going anymore. I think they all suspect something by now"  
Angela smiled and nodded.  
"I agree. I hate lying to Goliath and the others. There doesn't seem to be a point to it anymore. Why hide our love?" Broadway beamed, leaned over and kissed Angela softly upon her lips.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5: Decisions

_Disclaimer: I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_

**_Decisions_**

_3:45pm_

Elisa walked into the precinct house for her usual shift. As she opened the doors to the precinct, she couldn't help but catch a glimpse of herself in the glass doors that she passed. Her tummy was expanding every day, and she would have to go out and get more than just one new maternity outfit very soon. Right now, she wore the new white buttoned-down maternity blouse her mother bought for her a few weeks earlier, and over it, her red bomber jacket, though it was getting near impossible for her to zip it up. She would have to invest in a real coat and retire her beloved bomber jacket for a while—at least until after the baby was born. No sense in catching a cold because of her love of a jacket…

Passing colleagues and waving them cordial 'hello's, she knew she had to talk to Captain Chavez about something she had to ask her. She had come to a decision.

"Captain, can I talk to you for a minute, please?" Elisa asked Captain Chavez, as she stood in the doorway of her office. Captain Chavez looked up from her paperwork before her, tilted her head sympathetically at Elisa, and motioned for her to sit at the chair in front of the desk.

"Certainly, Detective." The Captain hadn't been the same since Adam was killed in the line of duty only four days ago, and had reverted to being extra-formal with her detectives, though she was on a first name basis with most, especially Elisa.

"What's on your mind?" Elisa sat upon the chair.

"Well, Captain, I think it's time for me to go on desk duty. Honestly, I thought I could handle it, and then Adam…" Elisa felt tears forming in her eyes. Before her eyes threatened to release them, she shook her head, cleared her throat and began her thought again. "…and then the last few days happened, and running after bad guys just can't happen anymore. I'm getting more and more exhausted and this kid is getting heavier and heavier."

The captain understood. She smiled ever so slightly, seeing the motherly instinct permeating Elisa's being; she wasn't asking to be put on desk duty for herself but for her child.

"Consider it done. Starting tonight, right?"

Relief washed over Elisa's face.

"Yeah, I mean, please. Thanks, Captain."

"No worries, Detective. Just tell your partner I need to see him to discuss how this is going to work." Elisa rose from her seat, smiled at Captain Chavez and left the office.

Elisa walked to where her car was parked at the precinct at around 11 pm. Captain Chavez had let her go home earlier than normal after all the paper work was done for the evening, so she decided to take advantage of this free time and visit her friends at the Eyrie Building before calling it a night.

She waved at the security guard at the front desk, who now knew her by name.

"Hello, Elisa. How're you feeling tonight?" He asked, implying about her pregnancy. He pressed a button to announce that she was headed upstairs. Though he saw her almost every night, he didn't know why she continuously visited the building. Perhaps she was close friends with Mrs. Xanatos. That would explain how the Xanatoses had been there to rescue her three months ago after being kidnapped and taken overseas.

She smiled at the courtesy.

"I'm a bit tired, but the baby is doing fine. Thanks for asking, Carl. Have a good night." She said, walking past him to the elevator.

After sunset had come, the youngest gargoyles went on patrol while Hudson, Bronx and Goliath sat in the Great Hall discussing a news report they saw on television. Goliath knew that eventually Elisa would visit. The prospect of seeing Elisa made him satisfied without his usual nightly glide.

The elevator 'ding'-ed, announcing to Elisa that she had reached the Great Hall. The doors slid open, and she stepped out of the elevator into the living room area. She was almost immediately greeted by Bronx barking happily. She bent down on one knee carefully and allowed Bronx to lick her face enthusiastically. She held his face with one hand while she patted his back.

"Ok, boy, I know you're happy I'm here…to think that I was terrified of you the first time I came up here..." She added quietly with a smirk.

"He isn't the only one who is glad to see you." Goliath said as he walked towards her.

"Bronx, come now!" Hudson called playfully. "Let her alone there, ya great beast."

Bronx's ears perked up at Hudson's call, licked Elisa once more, and then scurried off to settle again before the fireplace. Goliath helped Elisa from her kneeling stance on the floor with one hand while she wiped her face with the sleeve of her blouse. After she got back on both feet, Goliath put both arms around her and embraced her, kissing the top of her head as he did this. After the hug, he held both her hands and silently led her to the sofa before the giant television. She sat and nestled herself within the folds of the sofa as Goliath took his seat beside her.

"How are you, Elisa?" He asked with gentle concern. He took a hand to her stomach and rubbed it delicately.  
She sighed. "Tired. With everything that's happened over the last week, I'll be glad when I have a night off. Which reminds me, Goliath: I asked Captain Chavez to put me on desk duty from now on until I go on mat leave."

Goliath had a confused look on his face. "Mat leave?"

"I meant maternity leave. When I am 8 months along, I'll go on a paid leave from work. I'll return to work a year after the baby is born. That's the way most go about it, anyways." She explained. Elisa loved his naiveté about things. She found it charming and refreshing, so whenever the situation arose that she would have to explain things to him that were common place for her, she never got frustrated or irritated at him for asking. She would answer his question to the best of her knowledge with a smile on her face. Elisa had convinced herself long ago that this little quirk was just one of the reasons that he needed her—to explain things about the big city to him. She had a feeling that was one of the things he loved about her.

"I see." He replied, the confusion dissipating from his look. His hand still rested upon her stomach.

"I think that…" Goliath stopped speaking and smiled at Elisa. He looked down upon her stomach. He had felt the baby move.

"You felt that, too, huh?" Elisa asked, smiling.

Goliath looked as if he had never expected a baby to move about in its home within its mother.

"Incredible."

"Yeah, it's actually very incredible. It woke me up this morning. He or she is going to be a strong one." She laughed, placed both hands upon her stomach over his, and gazed at him.

"Dr. Alban told me that I shouldn't be feeling the baby kicking until at least the twenty-second week because it's my first pregnancy, but I guess I'm a special case."

Goliath bent his head down and kissed her forehead.

"Most definitely." Whenever his deep voice would utter something romantic, she felt the meaning of those words deep within her soul, and she felt the need to kiss him for hours on end. However, seeing as how Hudson was sitting inches away, his kiss on her forehead would have to suffice for now.

Just then, the voices of the other gargoyles could be heard outside the castle walls. A minute later, Lexington, Angela, Broadway and Brooklyn walked into the Great Hall. Noticing Elisa there, Angela quickened her pace and walked towards her.

"Hi, Elisa! How are you feeling?"

Elisa bit back a comment about how everyone should stop asking how she was and smiled instead. She was in a good mood for the first time since Adam was killed, and she wasn't going to spoil it with her comments.

"I'm a bit tired, but otherwise good. How was patrol?"

Lexington walked behind her, beaming.

"We stopped these thieves from escaping from a break-in. The clerk seemed really happy that we were there." He then pulled out a new electronic device and began fiddling with it, walking away from the others. Broadway strolled behind Angela.

"Yeah, it was great. It made me hungry, though."

"What's new?" Brooklyn joked as he joined the others in the Great Hall.  
Broadway shook his head.

"Well, it made me hungry for this new recipe I saw on T.V. the other night. I'm gonna see if I can make it right now." He walked towards the kitchen, eying Angela as he walked. Their eyes met briefly, and she understood.

"Broadway, that sounds good. Can I help you?"

"Sure." He called from the doorway.

"Elisa, I would love to stay and chat but…"

Elisa suspected something was going on between the two of them, but said nothing about it. Instead, she smiled sweetly at Angela.

"Don't worry. I'll be here until after dinner. Then I have to get some sleep. This kid is restless." Angela nodded and walked briskly to the door leading to the kitchen.

_**Meanwhile, in Queens, 11:29pm…**_

Ray sat in the Quarrymen's meeting room, waiting for the meeting to begin. He sat in the midst of nearly 35 people in plain clothes, who were all chatting among themselves about this lead on the gargoyles and that lead on the gargoyles. He looked down at his fingernails, and bit one on his right hand roughly. That was a bad habit, but then again, habits are hard to break, especially when he waited for the hottest woman he'd seen in a long time. It was getting hard for him to walk around her without developing a noticeable erection. He usually would have to bring a notebook with him to cover up his pleasure—it was high school all over again. He looked up from his not-so-tasty fingernail to the podium, and saw her, Robin, talking quietly with Jon Castaway, the leader of the Quarrymen.

"Jon, now that Fast Eddie is dead, how are we going ta bring this police woman down?" Robin asked carefully in her normal Scottish brogue. She hid this accent well when around others, but when she was with her brother, she reverted to her accent to give him a sense of familiarity. She felt his sanity slipping every so often. This fanatical hatred towards the gargoyles seemed to be destroying him slowly, and that devastated her. Robin wanted to ensure he was alright, so she attended every meeting of the Quarrymen to watch over her baby brother, since Jason was incapacitated to do so.

She was hoping that Fast Eddie's hit and run would cause Jon to forget Elisa Maza and concentrate on the gargoyles instead. Robin felt indebted to Elisa for being Jason's friend and helping him when the 'accident' which left him paralyzed happened. Since she could not visit her brother without being arrested, she felt relieved that at least he had one friend helping his transition from the world of the walking to the world of the wheelchair.

Jon had a nearly serene look on his rat-like face.

"Sister, don't ya worry about that. We'll get tha proof we need to eliminate her from this equation soon enough." He replied confidently in his own Scottish accent.

"And here I was, thinkin' ya'd only hunt the gargoyles and not the detective. She is in constant contact with Jason an' because of this, she's in the perfect position ta poison his mind against us further. Why are we takin' that risk of losing our brother forever because of your vendetta?" Robin's annoyance with trying to reason with her younger brother was clear by the tone in her voice. Jon squinted his eyes at her.

"Robin, she is a traitor to humanity. Whether or not she goes ta see Jason makes no difference. He is already lost to us…for now, anyway. He'll see things differently once we exterminate these pests from our city." He looked up at a round clock that hung on the adjacent wall—11:35pm. The meeting is set to begin.

"Take your seat, sister. I must conduct this meeting now." He said, resuming his terribly fake British accent. She silently nodded and walked over to her seat, beside Ray.

"Hi Robin!" Ray exclaimed. Over the last few months, he had become accustomed to seeing the woman known to him only as Robin at every Quarrymen's meeting. It seemed as if she was obligated to be at these meetings because of her close friendship with the leader, Jon Castaway. Every time he'd finish one of his anti-gargoyle rants, she would speak to him immediately after. They must be dating, he had thought immediately, until she mentioned that she was single one night after a meeting was adjourned. That changed everything for Ray—there might be a chance for him after all. She was still talking to him and always took the seat next to him. That had to be a sign.

"Hello, Ray. Nice seeing you again. How have you been?" The blonde replied politely as she walked towards him in the abandoned dance studio/Quarrymen's meeting room. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was romantically interested in her—that is, he only wanted sex from her—but she wasn't interested in him at all. He was a nice person to talk to, but to sleep with…that was another story. That thought actually revolted him. And besides that, she had her own problems to deal with; her brother's anti-gargoyle tirades seemed to be getting worse, and his judgement along with them.

"Alright. Did you hear about Fast Eddie? He was our one shot to nail Maza for her involvement with those monsters, and he got himself run over"  
Robin contemplated telling him about the conversation that she and her brother, Jon, had had just moments earlier, but shook it off and continued.

"Don't worry, Ray. Jon always has something up his sleeve. He's very resourceful, you know…"

When Angela reached the kitchen, the lights were off and it seemed empty.

"Broadway? Are you here?" She called in the darkness. She then felt gentle and familiar hands encircle her and dip her in a sweet kiss. Once the kiss ended, the lights came on in the kitchen. Angela was blushing and Broadway had a gigantic and playful smile upon his lips.

"Broadway, you scared me. But that was an amazing kiss…" She said quietly. Uh oh, he thought. I overstepped my boundaries…

"Sorry, Angela, but I just…wanted to be romantic." He said bashfully. She touched his face lightly with her hand and looked into his eyes.

"It's alright."

"Do you still think we should tell Goliath? I mean, how do you think he'll take it?" Broadway asked.

"Father will have to approve because I will tell him how much I…"

"What? You what?" Broadway asked, inches away from her face.

"I love you, Broadway. You are so very dear to me." She said, blushing deeply. Broadway's face lit up.

"You know that I love you, too, Angela. I love spending time with you, and cooking with you and reading with you. You make me happy, and I just hope I make you as happy."

"You do, Broadway. You do." She smiled. At these words, he put both arms around her, and his wings. She returned this gesture and drew her own wings over his in the ultimate demonstration of love between gargoyles. Withdrawing from the embrace, Angela looked up at Broadway and said, "Let's tell Goliath that we are in love tonight."

Broadway nodded, and added. "…right after dinner."

As suggested, after dinner was served and enjoyed by all, including Elisa, the clan went back to the Great Hall and relaxed a bit. Angela was slightly nervous, but she knew that she'd never feel truly happy with Broadway until she told her father, at least, that she loved Broadway, and he had won the unspoken contest between the trio for her affections.

Most of the clan had remained in the living area, watching television with Hudson and Bronx, while Elisa had asked Goliath to take a walk in the courtyard of the castle. Angela saw this as the perfect opportunity. Elisa would smooth things over if he didn't take it the right way…though Angela prayed that Goliath would understand. To be honest, she didn't know how the leader of their clan would react. Perhaps he'd frown down upon her choice of 'boyfriends', but she'd have to make him see that Broadway would make her happiest of all the others.

Goliath and Elisa had stopped their walk and were quietly chatting in the courtyard. Goliath held her in his arms the entire time they spoke, and never once looked away from her entrancing eyes. As Angela walked towards them, she realised that Elisa was like a mother to her, and that her opinion was almost as important as Goliath's. Surely she would approve as well.

"Father, Elisa, sorry for interrupting…" Angela apologized quietly.

"You need not apologise, daughter." Goliath replied, finally taking his eyes off of Elisa and laying them upon his only daughter.

"Yeah, what's up, Angela?" Elisa asked, turning to see Angela. She, too, felt somewhat like a mother to Angela, though she thought of her more like a best friend than anything else.

"Well, I wanted to…um…well, I wanted to tell you something, father."

"Oh, I should go, then. Family business…" Elisa made a move to leave, but Goliath kept his gentle hold of her.

"No, Elisa. I kind of wanted you to be here, too."

"Besides, you are also family, my darling." Elisa smiled up at Goliath again, and looked to Angela to see what her reaction was. She, too, was smiling. The smile was partially because he had called her his 'darling' in front of her, and partially because he called her family, which she was. She was a part of their clan.

"What is it, Angela?"

"Um…well, I…" Before she could even begin to formulate a grammatically correct sentence, Broadway glided towards them and landed beside Angela. Angela suddenly gained a renewed sense of confidence that her father and his love would understand, as they were so much in love as well.

"Father, Elisa," She turned to Broadway and held his hand. "We are in love." She braced herself for anything.

Elisa's mouth opened widely, jumped and she shouted, "**_I KNEW IT!_**"

"What? How did you…" Angela staggered.

"Well, I am a Detective, and I would be a pretty lousy one if I couldn't see what was happening between the two of you!" Elisa laughed, and then allowed herself to be released by the still silent Goliath and hugged Angela and then Broadway. Broadway laughed at her mention of her detective skills, since they didn't seem to help her see the feelings every other member of the clan saw that she had for their leader, and vice versa.

"Father…?" Angela asked. "Do you approve?"

Goliath breathed deeply, and then a regal smile crept up on his face.

"You have chosen wisely, my daughter. I am very happy for the both of you." He shook the still-nervous Broadways hand in the usual gargoyle style and hugged his daughter.

"What's all the noise out here about?" Hudson called, as he walked towards them, followed by the other members of the clan. Angela looked at Broadway, who simply nodded at her. Once the entire clan were surrounding them, Angela cleared her throat and began.

"Broadway and I…we are a couple."

Hudson smiled as he shook Broadway's hand. The others also smiled, though one gargoyle secretly wasn't as happy about this pairing as the others. Brooklyn half-heartedly shook Broadway's hand and smiled at Angela. Now it's official, Brooklyn thought. I am going to be alone forever. He walked away from the group and spread his wings to go for a glide. Maybe it would be what he needed to rid himself of this depression that clouded his judgement, or to continue his brooding over what could never be now. His absence went unnoticed by the clan.

The next morning at around 10am, Elisa awoke intent on visiting a friend.

She knocked upon the door of the apartment. "One minute, please." A male voice called from within. A moment passed, and she heard the locks upon the door release. The door opened, revealing Jason Canmore in a silver wheelchair. Elisa smiled down at him.

"Uh, hi. Can I come in?"

Jason hadn't been expecting her, but was glad nonetheless that she had visited him this morning. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Of course. Please." He motioned for her to enter. She did, and he closed the door behind her, re-locking the door. He wheeled himself into the living room of his apartment behind her. She was taking her bomber jacket off and hanging it up in his hallway closet as she normally did when she visited him when he wheeled beside her.

"What brings you by, Elisa?" Jason asked, his accent as rich as ever, and his eyes as brilliantly blue as ever. Those eyes had lost Elisa within their depth and beauty on more than one occasion when Jason and Elisa had first met, but once she admitted to herself that her feelings for Goliath ran deeper than plutonic friendship, she never allowed herself to be lost within them again.

"Well, I haven't been over in a while, and to be honest, I felt badly that I've kept myself away." She said sheepishly. Jason shook his head.

"I know you've been busy. I'm sorry to hear about yuir partner, by the way." He stated sympathetically without trying to drudge up unneeded memories of Adam. She understood his aversion of the subject and closed her eyes as she said, "Thanks"  
Trying to change the subject to happiness, Jason looked at her tummy, which was noticeably bigger since the last time he had seen her.

"How's the little one treatin' you?" He asked, hoping this would steer the conversation into happier thoughts. It worked, because Elisa looked to her tummy, put a hand there and giggled.

"I think he or she wants to tire me out lately. I feel the baby kick more and more frequently now."

"Do you know the sex of yuir baby?" Jason asked, genuinely curious.

"No, I don't. And I have decided not to know, either. I have names picked out for either possibility, so I'm prepared, but I don't want to know until I have him or her in my arms. Wow…" She suddenly became wistful. "I'm going to be a mom. It hits me sometimes and I feel so different from who I normally am. It's a strange feeling." She realised that what she just said probably went right over Jason's head. "Sorry, I mean—"

"No, I understand. As much as I can understand, that is."

Jason looked down at his hands in his lap. He tried as hard as possible to get the thought of Elisa out of his mind, but nothing helped. He had fallen hard for her, and when they kissed all those months ago, he had thought that she returned his feelings. But, when she pulled away and told him that there was someone else, his heart was crushed. That didn't mean, however, that he could quickly rid his heart of the feelings of admiration and growing devotion for her. When she told him that she was pregnant, his heart was crushed again, as he still harboured a secret hope that they could have had a chance to be together, and that child she was carrying could have been his.

He pushed those thoughts to the far regions of his mind and looked back up at her, motioning to her to sit on his couch.

"Let me get you some coffee—I mean some milk—and you can tell me what you mean. That is, if you want ta..." He turned his wheelchair towards the kitchen and readied himself to wheel over there.

She smiled. He seemed to be adapting well to his new lifestyle without the use of his legs. His apartment was also modified to be wheelchair accessible for him. Shelves were lowered, things were easier to reach and there were no steps like in her old apartment. She took the seat on the couch.

"I would love to. Thanks, Jason."

After twenty minutes or so of discussing the baby growing within her, Elisa couldn't resist asking Jason about his brother and sister.

"Have you heard anything from them?"

He shook his head.

"I received a call the other night, and when I answered it, the person on the other end was silent. I had a feeling it was Robin, but I canna be sure of it. As for Jon, he's always been very passionate about his beliefs. I am terribly worried about him, since he always jumped inta things head-first as a child."

Elisa sipped her warmed milk and took a bite of a piece of pecan pie Jason had offered her.

"But both of them are criminals. You weren't charged with the same charges they are facing when we find them both because I chose not to press charges against you. I owe you my life." I owe many people my life, she thought. How the hell do I intend to pay back all these debts?

"Elisa, I will be grateful to you always for not pressing charges against me for my actions, and for not telling the police of my involvement with the bombing of the clock tower. But my brother doesn't need to be locked up: he needs help. You saw the way he left St. Damian's that night, ranting on and on about revenge and how the hunt isn't over. I believe he is mentally unstable. He always looked up to both Robin and myself to guide him. Since I am not there, I pray she is near him to stabilize him."

"For his sake, so do I." Elisa agreed.

That evening, Elisa went to work wearing a newly purchased maternity top, black stretch pants and a longer black coat. It was specifically in a size larger than what she needed for the coming winter months as well as a new scarf that matched the coat perfectly. She had finally taken her own advice and went shopping for herself, and because of it, she finally felt comfortable in her new and ever-changing body.

She worked at her new position: the typist of the precinct. She sat at her desk for nearly four hours without a break, getting up between to use the bathroom and get some water. About five hours in, Matt came bounding into the station, and walked to her desk as she finished another report.

"Hey, partner. Enjoying the reports?" He asked.

"Sure, Matt, they are great reading material. I feel like a novelist…" She answered sarcastically. She put another five sheets of paper on the top of a pile on the other side of her desk, and turned to look at Matt.

"How was tonight?"

"Boring as hell, actually. I'm going to miss you coming out with me on the beat." Matt replied, scowling.

"Not to worry. The captain said since they are thinking of putting you as the head of the Gargoyle Task Force, you might not be lonely anymore. You won't miss me as much as you think." She laughed.

"Besides," She continued. "…this little one is a lot more important than you are, Bluestone!" She laughed again, causing Matt to laugh, too. "Ya, you got me there, Elisa."

_**Outside the precinct house…near Elisa's car…**_

Jon and Robin crouched near Elisa's white and red Ford Fairlane, wearing the standard dark blue hoods and toting large hammers behind them.

"This is her car. We can follow her and create an accident for her along the way home. It's brilliant!" Jon said maniacally. Robin rolled her eyes behind her hood.

"Quiet! I hear somethin', Jon."

Footsteps. From their crouched position, they could see the detective approaching her car. Robin noticed something in the way she looked that made her suspect that she was sick or getting over a cold. Her face showed signs of weariness and…just a difference she couldn't explain.

Elisa rattled her pockets to find her keys to the car. Once she had them in hand, she walked towards the driver's seat, and was about to unlock her door when Matt came running behind her.

"Elisa! Wait up!"

She turned around. "What's up, Matt?" He was waving something of hers in the air.

"You forgot your scarf. You don't want to catch a cold while you're pregnant, you know. My mom says that's not healthy for the baby." She took the scarf from his hand, and began wrapping it around her neck.

Jon and Robin were shocked.

"Thanks, Matt. I know I have to take better care of myself for this kid, which is why I'm going home to sleep right now. Hopefully the guys will stop by for a visit." "Sounds good, Elisa. Take care!" With that, he dashed back to the precinct to finish off some work before leaving for home himself.

Elisa got into her car, started the ignition and drove home, leaving Jon and Robin in shock in the parking lot.

"That explains the way she looked to me. She didn't look the same."

"…and that bulge under her coat would also be explained as well." Jon added

"So now what? We can't go after her while she's pregnant. That would be a crime against that innocent child."

Jon looked completely outraged.

"No one is innocent during a war. We cannot allow that child to grow up knowin' that his mother is a friend to the gargoyles. That would be a travesty. It cannot live."

Robin had to say something to this. Sure, his hatred was directed at the gargoyles, but now it was directed at an innocent child which hadn't even been born yet.

"Jon, think logically here. That child hasn't been born yet. Why don't we wait until she has given birth before striking against her? Then that child will be given to a family member or somethin' and will never know of the gargoyles' relationship with its mother. You canna kill an unborn child. You are so against abortion, yet you'd kill this child?" She practically yelled. This seemed to jolt Jon back to his senses. He looked calmly at his sister.

"You're right, Robin. We'll wait until after the child is born. And then Elisa Maza won't be able to hide from the Quarrymen and her fate."

Relieved at his change of heart for now, Robin exhaled and motioned for him to follow her to the car to go home.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6: The Baby Shower

_Disclaimer:  
I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_

_(Special Thanks to Ingram for his help with this story! You Rock, Dude!)_

****

**_7—The Always Necessary Baby Shower_**

_**July 10, 1997…**_

Angela soared through the night sky towards Dominique Destine's manor, with a hope that seeing her mother would bring together her planning for Elisa's surprise baby shower and bring the clan together during this time of joy for her step-mother of sorts.

Angela landed upon the balcony to her mother's second floor bedroom, and folded her wings gracefully over her shoulders.  
"Mother? Are you here?" She called. Just then, the doors to the room opened, and Demona stepped out, smiling at her daughter. "Angela! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you by?" Demona asked her daughter, smiling. "Well, mother, I have a favour to ask of you." Angela said, feeling a bit chagrined for not having seen her mother for nearly a month, and asking for a favour from her now. Demona had not thought of this, and was genuinely happy to see her daughter regardless of the reason.

"Certainly, daughter. What is it?"

Angela looked at her mother, hoping there was still a sympathetic or generous bone in her body.

"Well, mother, as you know, Elisa is pregnant…" Demona's smile instantly disappeared, and was replaced by a scowl. Her eyes glowed crimson.

"Angela, you come to my home, and mention **HER** name?"

"I just needed to ask if you would like to come to a shower we are hosting for her tomorrow evening. I know your relationship with the clan needs some work—"

"Work! The clan hates me, and I hate them, save for you, my daughter. And as for that pitiful human, I would have eliminated that treacherous detective long ago if given the chance. What would possibly make you think of inviting me to celebrate her bastard child's impending birth?" Demona hissed, turning away from Angela, and looking up into the sky. Angela knew it had been hopeless to even think of inviting her mother to something like this, but since Angela was always optimistic about everything and everyone, she had to try.

"Mother, you are all alone in this world. Except for me, that is. I don't want you to be alone when you have family—a clan—that will always be here awaiting your return to us."

Demona turned back to stare Angela down.

"What makes you think I am alone?" She retorted.

"Mother, have you any friends? Any one special in your life?"

Demona silently looked down to the floor of the balcony, then stared once more out into the night sky. Angela exhaled, admitting her defeat.

"Fine, mother. Don't come. I just hoped that we could truly be a family…clan…" Angela unfurled her wings, stepped up onto the ledge, and looked back at her mother. Demona knew her daughter stared at her with lament, but didn't dare look back at her. Demona turned and walked back into her bedroom, angered that her daughter would actually ask her to join the clan, in her own way. She then heard Angela's wings catching a wind current and soaring away.

What was wrong with her daughter? Why would she think that Demona would actually join them, even for something as trivial as a baby shower? Considering that the shower was going to be for one of her rivals, Angela had to have known that she would turn the most unattractive offer down in a heartbeat. Why did she even try? That's right, because she had this strange notion that they could be family, clan as Angela put it. No chance of that happening, though, thanks to Goliath and his human-loving ways. He had always been more bending in his reasoning, but being friends with that pitiful human was the proverbial straw that broke the gargoyle's back. The detective had soured Goliath against her. That had to be it. And now, she and Goliath were even closer.

This was ridiculous. First, he takes a human friend, then he endangers the lives of the clan to protect this crime-ridden city, and now, she was sure of it, he was in love with the human. She recognized his symptoms of love when she saw them; she remembered how similarly he had acted when they began their own courtship over a millennium ago. The signs were all there. He cared too much for this human, and it affected everything he did as leader. When she and Goliath had mated, though he recognized that her skills were superior to her rookery brothers and sisters, and though she was second in command, he was overprotective of her, always insisting that they go everywhere together. She didn't mind that; in fact, she never minded being around Goliath, even now. She told herself that she hated him, but truthfully, the thought of his heart being with another was too much to imagine for Demona. To know that he embraced another in an intimate fashion as he and Demona once had was torture. After Elisa's rescue, Demona decided to stay away from Manhattan for a few months and went to Egypt, conducting her business still under the guise of Dominque Destine. She knew that he would be hovering over that human indefinitely, and she didn't want to be around to witness it.

Angela landed in the backyard of the suburban bungalow belonging to Peter and Diane Maza. Walking slowly in the darkness, she reached the door to the house, and knocked gently. A light turned on inside, the sound of feet could distinctly be heard, and a figure came to the door. It was Diane Maza. Upon recognizing Angela, she smiled and opened the door.

"Hi, Mrs. Maza."

"Hello, Angela. What did she say?"

"No. I expected as much, but at least I tried. I would have liked to have my mother with me."

Diane Maza motioned for Angela to come inside, relieved that Demona would not be joining them at the shower the next evening. Angela draped her wings over her shoulders.

"I know, dear, but I assume this will be for the best. We don't want to upset Elisa, you know. She's eight months along. The due date isn't for another month, but when I was pregnant with Derek, he came at 8 and a half months. The baby can come at any time now." She said, locking the door behind Angela.

"Yes, I know. Dr. Alban told the clan about these types of things. I guess, because we haven't been around pregnant humans for a while, we needed a crash course in pregnancy." Diane Maza laughed, and put a hand on Angela's shoulder.

"There is a lot that doctor probably hasn't told you about 'human pregnancy'. You will all just have to find out by watching over my daughter. But you all do it anyway, don't you?"

She led Angela to the living room. There were bags of multi-coloured balloons, streamers and other assorted decorations spread out on the floor in front of the television. Angela sat upon the floor, and tucked her legs under her. Diane did the same, and brought a bag of pink balloons closer to her.

"Yes, of course we do. We love Elisa. I consider her a mother to me, especially since she and Goliath…" Angela stopped herself. Diane Maza looked up at the young gargoyle with intrigue.

"Please continue, Angela…my daughter doesn't tell me anything when it comes to her love life."

"They love each other. Of that we are completely positive. I actually knew from the moment I met Goliath and Elisa in Avalon. I could sense it by the way he was protective of her, and I would catch him looking at her as she slept. As for her actions, they were clear that she was hiding her affection for my father behind the veil of friendship."

"And how does he feel about this baby?" Diane asked simply.

Angela paused to think of an appropriate response, making use of the information shown to her over the past few months.

"It is as if this child were his. He has increased his protectiveness. It's actually very sweet to witness." She smiled. Diane smiled, too.

"That's all I needed to hear." She looked down at the jumble of balloons, streamers and the other decorations before her, seemingly satisfied and content with the answers provided to her by Angela. "Shall we get started in picking the decorations for tomorrow night?"

_**The next evening…  
**July 11…_

Elisa walked into the precinct for her last shift before going on maternity leave. She actually waddled into the precinct, with a hand on her belly. It had now expanded to about the size of a beach ball under her blouse, and the child within was as active as ever, except when he or she slept, which was also something she was made aware of. When the child didn't move, he or she was asleep. She felt tired, bloated, cranky, and had the worst back pain she had ever experienced throughout the pregnancy so far tonight, but was pacified with the thought that tomorrow night, she would be free to sleep until whatever time she wished, and stay in her pyjamas all day if she wanted to. To make matters worse for Elisa, she really had to go to the bathroom…again.

She didn't look tired at all. Actually, she looked radiant. She exuded a glow from every pore. Her skin had returned to its even golden hue, and a rosy colour was now present upon her cheeks. She had gained about 25 pounds from the pregnancy, but it suited her well. The weight seemed to have only settled upon her cheeks and her neck. She was in the home stretch of her pregnancy, and although she felt tired and in pain, she looked more naturally beautiful and healthy than she had ever been.

She walked into the precinct, waved at all the usuals, then, grateful that her desk wasn't far away, walked over, pulled the chair out and sat down for a minute before deciding to go to the bathroom for the fourth time in an hour. She went to the ladies' room soon after, and returned to a nearly-empty squad room.

"Where the hell did everyone go?" She asked aloud, looking about the room. Thinking nothing of it, she sat back down at her desk, and looked over the pile of reports she would definitely have to finish before her shift was over tonight, otherwise, they would fall behind.

About five minutes in to typing up one report, Captain Chavez appeared at her desk.

"Maza, I need to speak with you in my office, now." She stated, walking away briskly and nearly slamming her office door behind her.

Wondering what the hell she did to piss Chavez off that much, Elisa quietly shuffled her way to the office, grabbed the door handle, and prepared her best 'what did I do, Captain?' look.

Upon opening the door, about ten voices shouted "**_SURPRISE!"_** Matt, Chavez, Morgan, LeFrancois and a few others were standing there, grinning from ear to ear. Behind them, Elisa noticed a banner saying "Congratulations Elisa" on it, a few yellow and purple balloons here and there and Captain Chavez's desk covered with wrapped presents. Elisa was astonished at her colleagues, and was speechless at the shower they had pulled together.

Matt stepped forward and hugged his silent but smiling pregnant partner.

"Well, Elisa? Nothing to say?"

She finally snapped out of her reverie and cleared her throat.

"Wow, thank you so much for all of this. I was not expecting this from you guys!"

Captain Chavez laughed. "It was no problem at all, detective…and sorry about the harshness back there. I needed a good excuse to get you in here, but I didn't have one, so I did that instead of explaining myself."

"Ha. It worked, Captain." Elisa giggled, resting her hand on her protruding belly.

Morgan stepped up. "Well, detective? Aren't you going to open our gifts?" Elisa forgot about that.

"Right…" She walked towards the desk, where there was at least a gift from all the detectives from the 23rd precinct. She opened one gift after the other, hugging the gift giver if he or she was in the room, and showing it off to the others. The final gift she opened was a gift from Adam's mother and sister. Elisa suddenly became teary-eyed and opened the gift. It was a mobile for a crib. The box showed that the mobile was of little angels with furry wings and halos. The box advertised that the mobile was not gender specific, so it could be used for a boy or a girl's crib. She held up the box to everyone. "This is from Officer O'Riley's mother and sister. It's an angel mobile for the crib." A series of 'aww's came from her colleagues as the mood become sombre with the mention of Adam's name. Elisa smiled movingly, put the box down and looked up at her co-workers and her friends.

"This is incredible. Really, thank you." She looked at all the gifts she had received and chuckled. "…but someone will have to help me take all this stuff home. My car won't fit it all." Matt and Officer Morgan began picking up various boxes in their arms.

"I guess we will help you load as much as possible, then I can drop the rest off at your place. Sounds good, Elisa?" Matt asked. She nodded.

"After my shift, guys. Gimme another 6 hours at least."

It was nearly midnight when Matt drove to Elisa's apartment behind her filled-to-the-brim Ford Fairlane to help her bring the rest of the gifts home. She had gotten a pretty good haul for an impromptu baby shower. Captain Chavez had given her a baby stroller, which converted depending on the baby's size and age. Morgan had given her a set of bottles, which included the cleaning kit, and a bottle warmer as well. Matt, who was unlearned in the ways of the baby, still did well in his selection; he gave Elisa a convertible car seat for newborns until the child grew to be 22 pounds. It had a carrying handle and was white, so it was perfect for either sex. In Matt's car, he brought a Diaper Genie that one of the other officers had sent over, as well as a big bag which contained CDs of lullabies, gift certificates to baby clothing stores, and non-gender specific things like socks, booties, hats, and even a winter jacket for a newborn. Since Elisa decided not to learn of the gender of her child, she had made gift giving quite difficult for her friends, but they still had managed to get her things that she could definitely put to good use.

After helping Elisa unload the car and bring all the items to her apartment, Matt changed Cagney's litter for Elisa, upon her request. Before he left for the evening, he turned and smiled at his partner.

"What?" Elisa asked Matt.

"It's just that you're going to be a mom soon, you know? I'm still not used to the idea, but I'm going to have to be ready for it…I'll be an uncle soon enough…"

She snorted.

"Ha. Yea, it's really happening. My doctor says it could literally be any day now. Usually, first time moms are late, but he said there are always exceptions, and the due date isn't based on any scientific facts, so it is just an educated guess. Hey, speaking of being ready, do you want to see the baby's room before you leave?"

Matt's eyebrows rose.

"It's done?"

"Yea, it's done. My dad came in last week and finished the paint off while I was on shift, and I spent a few nights at the Eyrie building so I wouldn't smell the paint." She said as she led Matt to the bedroom adjacent to her own bedroom. To Matt, the room she was leading him to had always been the clutter room: it was a place that Elisa could throw her vacuum, her old magazines, and her extra clothes. There had never been a bed or a desk or anything of that nature in there. In fact, this was the first time he was actually going to see the door to this room open before.

"You never mentioned that to me." Matt stated, stopping in his tracks.

"You were working the beat for three nights straight, and the only thing we said to each other was hi and bye for those three nights because we were so busy." She replied smartly.

"Ah. So, you and Xanatos are chummy now?"

She looked at Matt, tilting her head at him. "No, not really. Goliath and the others insisted when I told them that my dad was painting. I fought with them, but then Xanatos walked in and offered one of the guest bedrooms. It worked out for the best, anyways. I got to spend more time with the guys and the baby's room is completely done."

She flipped a light switch and Matt walked into the fresh-smelling room which was covered in a shade of pastel purple, forgetting the old room he used to tease Elisa about. The crib was assembled in the farthest corner of the rectangular room. There was a white linen curtain that hung off of rods above the window. It was a simple wooden crib, painted white. It looked antique, as if her parents had given this crib to her and she had revamped it. Nonetheless, it looked like it belonged with the other pieces of furniture in the room. There was a silver chain hanging off the headboard of the crib, with a saint on it. Matt recognized this as the pendant that Adam had given to Elisa before he died. The crib was already equipped with white linen sheets, awaiting the miracle child to be snuggled under them. There was a small plush gargoyle in the crib. Matt saw this toy, and smiled heartily. Right beside the crib, there was a wooden rocking chair, also painted white recently, with another stuffed animal on it, as well as a small pillow. The change table was in the next corner of the room closest to the closet. It, too, was wooden painted white, and held the conventional things required to change a baby. Elisa already had the baby powder, a box of baby wipes and lotion set out, as well as a small stack of newborn diapers beside these amenities. Matt whistled at the preparedness.

"Wow. This room is beautiful, Elisa. You are ready for this, aren't you?" She herself surveyed the room one last time before Matt exited the room and headed again for the door.

"Yea, I am. I can't wait to hold him or her in my arms." She held the door open as Matt put his shoes back on.

"Elisa, keep in touch. And I want to know when you have the baby."

She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Jeez, Matt, you make it sound as if I won't talk to you before I have the baby. I will call you before then. Don't worry, partner." She laughed, hugged Matt, and watched him wave and walk down the corridor of the apartment building.

Locking the door behind Matt, Elisa walked back into the baby's room and stood in the doorway, looking at the sight before her. Sooner than she might even be prepared for, she was going to be in this room a lot, holding her son or daughter, feeding him or her, watching him or her sleep. She smiled, then realised she had to go to the bathroom once again.

After she did her business, she walked out of the bathroom, wondering why Goliath hadn't contacted her or came by yet this evening. It was nearly 1am, and she had told him that she would be finished her last shift tonight at 12:30am. Where was he?

**_The Eyrie Building_**

"Is everything ready?" Angela called to Broadway, who was cooking up some of Elisa's favourite dishes in the kitchen of the castle.

"Yea, everything is ready on my end."

"Good. Mrs. Maza, are the decorations ready as well?"

Diane Maza nodded cheerfully. "Yes, Angela. The Great Hall is ready as well. The presents are over there on the table."

Just then, Xanatos and Fox walked in, each holding an envelope addressed to Elisa.

"I hope we aren't late for the festivities." David remarked. Angela looked over and frowned, obviously stressed with the planning involved to pull this shower together.

"No, father went to Elisa's apartment to get her a half an hour ago. I'm not sure why he's taking so long, though."

"No trouble, I hope?" Diane Maza asked. Angela resumed her frown.

"I hope not."

**_Central Park, 20 minutes earlier…_**

Goliath was gliding by when he saw a group of young men running away from the police. Two of the young men were holding bags filled with money. Some of the money was falling out of the bag as they ran. The police kept shouting "STOP! POLICE!", but the men did not do as they were told, and gained ground. Goliath, knowing that he was expected back at the castle shortly, knew that his first duty was to help the citizens of Manhattan, and swooped down to slow the escape of the young men. It was pretty easy for Goliath to grab them and basically gift-wrap them for the police. The officers were most grateful to Goliath for helping them. So much so that one of the officers actually shook Goliath's hand, and began talking with him.

"I'm Daniel Merks. It's great to meet you! I've been so fascinated by your kind since I heard the rumours about you, then all that stuff about you guys and those Canmores surfaced, and I knew it was true!"

Goliath bowed. "Thank you, officer Merks." He replied simply.

"No! Thank you…um…what do I call you?"

"My name is Goliath."

The officer smiled happily. "Well, Goliath, it is really great to finally meet one of you. I can't wait to tell my wife! She won't believe me!"

The other officers handling the young thieves were just putting them into a squad car, and were about ready to come and talk to the gargoyle that helped them capture these criminals. Goliath saw this and suddenly became self-conscious of his surroundings and being among other humans, other than Elisa or Xanatos, and urgently felt the need to vacate the premises fast.

"I am sorry, Officer Merks, but I must go. I am expected at a friend's home"  
The officer nodded in comprehension.

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you. I know you're a busy guy…I mean…" The officer became flustered. Goliath waved his taloned hand.

"Not a problem, Officer Merks. But I must be going. Farewell."

He turned from the police officer and took off on all fours into the park in search of a tall enough tree to pick up a wind current that would take him to Elisa's apartment.

**_Elisa's apartment…_**

Elisa was sitting upon her couch, staring blankly at the television, which was showing an infomercial about some new kitchen knives that could cut through aluminium, and then slice through a tomato effortlessly. She wasn't paying attention to the television, though. Her mind was on the restless child within her that was poking her. She rested her hand upon her belly, trying to calm the child, with no luck. She then remembered something she had once heard about music being able to sooth children in the womb. With some effort, she slowly rose from her seat and walked to her stereo.

Looking through her modest collection of CDs, she found one that always relaxed her after a long shift. It was a CD created by her sister, Beth, which included songs from artists like Nat King Cole, Etta James, and Frank Sinatra. She took the CD out of its case and put it in the player. She hit the skip button until she found the one song that always managed to relax her to the point of sleep every time: What a Wonderful World by Louie Armstrong. She took a seat beside the stereo, and pressed Play. As the violins began, she rested her head back against the living chair, closed her eyes and smiled.

The child within instantly began to cease its movements, and Elisa put her hand on her tummy in an effort to relax the child further. It worked. As the eternal voice of Louis Armstrong began singing, Elisa smiled and remembered one of the first times she heard this song. Her own mother had played it one night while a thunderstorm was raging outside her window. To calm her, she put this song on and sang to her young daughter. While she remembered this pleasant memory, the song came to an end (It was only 2 minutes long) and a song by Nat King Cole began. Elisa, however, hadn't noticed. She nearly drifted asleep when she heard the sliding window to the balcony opening. She jolted her head up and saw Goliath stepping into the apartment.

"Did I startle you, Elisa?"

"Don't worry, Big Guy. I was just dozing off." He walked over and planted a loving kiss upon her forehead, draped his wings, and then took a seat on the closest sofa.

"How was your last shift?"

She pointed to the boxes and bags on the kitchen table.

"They gave me a baby shower at work. It was really sweet of them." Goliath looked over at all the boxes and smiled.

"It looks like it was fruitful."

"Yeah, I got things I needed and some things I didn't know that I needed!" He turned his attention back to Elisa.

"And how are you? How is the child tonight?"

She sighed. "Restless until I played some music. I guess this CD will be worn out by the time he or she is a year old. It calmed the baby instantly."

"That is amazing, love." He looked over at the digital clock on the VCR under the television set. He was already late in bringing her to the castle. "I know you are tired, but the clan would love to see you tonight. They are excited to hear of your final shift before going on maternity leave. Will you allow me to take you to the castle?" He asked, praying to the dragon that she would accept.

"Well, I really should be relaxing, but I guess I can relax with you guys in front of the fireplace. Let me change into another shirt. Be back in a minute." She struggled to get up again, and Goliath offered her his taloned hand to balance herself. Once up, she walked towards her bedroom and shut the door. Remembering that Goliath hadn't seen the baby's room, either, she opened a crack of her door, and yelled out, "Goliath, the baby's room is done, if you want to see it…" and shut the door gently again.

Goliath walked over to the room, and switched the light switch on. Looking around quietly, he was filled with a sense of comfort and delight; this room was one of the final confirmations that Elisa was really going to have this child. He could just envision Elisa sitting upon the rocking chair in the corner as she held her son or daughter. He walked over to the crib and noticed the stuffed plush gargoyle. He picked it up and looked at it closely. It was purple, and its wings were small, and high on its back, but it wore a smile and a child-like expression.

"You like that toy, huh?" Elisa said as she approached the opened bedroom door and saw Goliath looking at the child's toy.

He turned around to see Elisa dressed now in a red dress shirt, which was fitted casually over her belly and was not tucked into her pants. She had tied her hair back in a loose ponytail, and wore small hoop earrings. Her glow definitely did not disappear, and Goliath saw that she was magnificent as she stood before him. He swept her up into his arms and laid his lips upon hers in a passionate kiss. He let his tongue, still fairly new at this whole kissing thing, delve into her mouth and interact with hers. After wrestling with her tongue for a few moments, he regained his senses and let her down to the floor.

"Whoa, apparently you do…" She said quietly. He exhaled, smiled, and began to walk out of the room.

"Let us go, before we make use of your sofa and…'make out' instead of leaving for the castle." She giggled at hearing him use the phrase 'make out'.

"Ok, let's go, then." They walked hand in hand to the balcony, she locked the window behind her, and allowed Goliath to pick her up. He stepped onto the ledge, and spread his wings to soar to the castle.

**_The Eyrie Building…_**

Goliath and Elisa landed upon the lower level of the castle. It was completely silent within the castle.

"Where is everyone?" Elisa asked. Goliath looked befuddled too. A case of good acting on his part.

"I have no idea. Perhaps they are still on patrol?"

Elisa didn't look convinced.

"It's too late for them to still be on patrol…" She said, walking ahead of Goliath, headed toward the Great Hall, where there were no lights on, no movement, and no noise emanating from within. She walked through the doors of the Great Hall, and was suddenly bombarded with "**_SURPRISE_**!" from the clan, David, Fox, Talon, Maggie, Claw, Peter, Diane and Beth Maza. Around them, there were balloons, streamers and a large banner graced one of the walls above a table with a few presents on it.

"Damnit! Tricked twice in one night!" Elisa cursed playfully. Everyone laughed. She turned and faced Goliath. "Even you were in on this, weren't you, Goliath?" She said, mock-angrily.

"Yes, Elisa, I was. Forgive me?" He said sweetly, reaching for her hands. She looked up at Goliath and was about to give him a kiss, when she realised that her family were right beside her. Thinking better of it, Elisa smiled instead at him, and turned to everyone.

"You guys are too much." She said, addressing no one in particular.

"Darling, this is your first child, and our first grandchild. Of course we had to plan something like this for you!" Diane Maza exclaimed, motioning to the decorations and table of presents.

"Yes, Elisa. Besides, these are your friends, your extended family. We had to involve them in it, too…" Her father added.

"So, sis, are you going to open your stuff or what?" Beth said impatiently.

"Oh, right." Elisa replied distractedly. Her mother noticed this, and stepped up to her, took her by the hand, and said, "Give us a minute everyone." She pulled her daughter into the corner of the room, farthest away from everyone.

"Darling," Diane began. "I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to hide your feelings for Goliath from your father or me."

Elisa smiled at her mother.

"Thanks mom. It's that obvious, huh?"

"Um, yes, Elisa. It is that obvious. You care for him. I can see that clearly."

"Actually, mom, I love him. More than anything. I hate trying to hide it"  
Her mother took both her hands in her own and beamed.

"I'm happy for you, Elisa. Regardless of what he is, I know who he is, and that's what matters." She hugged her very pregnant daughter. "Now, let's get back to the party? It's in your honour, you know!" Elisa smiled and walked with her mother to rejoin the rest of the people gathered in the Great Hall.

Diane let go of her daughter's hands, and stood by her husband, Peter's side. She grabbed his hand and kissed it, soliciting a strange look from her husband. She whispered something softly into his ear. Peter Maza smiled at this information, and kissed his wife's cheek, then put an arm around her. Elisa walked up to Goliath and reached for his hand. He smiled, though puzzled at her new found confidence to display affection before her parents. She quietly returned the smile and rubbed his hand.

"Well, let's see what you guys got for my baby!" Elisa exclaimed, walking hand in hand with Goliath towards the table.

She opened the gifts as she did with her first shower, showing them off as she opened them, and thanking the gift-giver. Her parents had purchased a baby carrier, similar to the one Matt had gotten for Elisa. This one, however, was only for newborns, so the other one she had received wasn't completely obsolete, much to her happiness. Derek, Maggie and the other mutates had combined their money together and purchased a set of newborn diapers and a collection of storybooks. The clan didn't have money, nor did they want to ask Xanatos for anything out of pride, so Angela had come up with the idea of offering to baby-sit the baby whenever Elisa needed to relax, any night, any time, forever. Elisa was quite amused by this idea, and was grateful to them for it. When she was presumably finished unwrapping all the gifts, she turned to the group.

"Thank you for everything, guys. I appreciate it all." She said, resting her hand on her stomach. She could feel the baby moving around slightly. David Xanatos' hand rose.

"Detective, there is one more gift. One from myself and one from Fox. Isn't that right, my dear?" He asked, turning to his wife, who was holding two envelopes. She rose from her seat, grinning pleasantly, and handed both envelopes to a surprised Elisa.

"Yes, Elisa. The pink one is from me, and the blue one is from David."

Elisa looked down at the envelopes in her hand. Although she certainly didn't trust them completely, it was a sweet gesture to give her a gift. She mentally decided to open the pink envelope first. It was a certificate for a registered Education Savings Bond.

"What the—"

"Elisa, every month, we are putting away $1,000 for your child's education. By the time he or she is 18, this money should be sufficient to cover four years at Harvard or any Ivy League school he or she wants."

Elisa's jaw dropped open, as did nearly every other jaw in the room.

"Fox, I can't accept this. That is too much. Please…"

"Nonsense, Elisa. Please accept it." Fox pleaded with sincere eyes. Elisa saw this, and, feeling defeated, nodded her acceptance of the extravagant gift from Fox. Instantly, Fox smiled and hugged Elisa.

Xanatos cleared his throat. "And now, Detective, you must open mine."

"This better not be a key to the city or something, Xanatos."

He smiled. "No, detective. It definitely is not. Open it, please."

She hesitantly opened the blue envelope. In it, there was a single piece of paper, on which was written , "One wish from the Puck." She looked up at Xanatos, dumbfounded.

"What does this mean, Xanatos?"

Before he could reply, Owen stood in the doorway to the Great Hall, holding young Alexander Xanatos in his arms.

"Owen, can you explain our gift to Detective Maza?"

"Certainly, sir." Owen turned to Elisa as he handed Alex to his mother. He then readjusted his glasses upon his bony nose and continued. "Detective Maza, it is exactly as it states."

"But I thought that you couldn't perform magic anymore?" Lexington chimed in, breaking the silence of the clan. Just then, Owen disappeared and in his place, the fey, Puck remained, hovering off of the floor by three feet.

"There are work-arounds for every spell, even those set by Oberon himself, silly!" Pucks melodious voice echoed through the room as he hovered over to Elisa.

"I will grant you a wish whenever you like, as long as that little tyke is with me, and I make it so that the magic comes through him as if I were teaching him the spell. No questions asked." Puck got to his feet and extended his hand out to Elisa. She scrunched up her eyebrows.

"We have to shake on it to make it official." Elisa glanced over at the clan, who were still somewhat awestruck by the gift. Still trying to decide whether or not to accept this strange gift, Elisa glanced at Goliath again. He gave her a look which said, 'do what you feel is right'. She bit her lip before shaking Puck's hand. Puck suddenly vanished in a cloud of smoke and Owen stood there again. He straightened his suit, tilted his head slightly, and walked over to Fox to take Alex out of her arms.

"Now that business is finished here, I will return young Alexander to his crib. Good night everyone. Detective." With that, Owen walked out of the Great Hall carrying Alex in his arms. Elisa turned her attention back to Xanatos.

"Xanatos, what can I say but thank you?"

He shook his head. "Detective, this is just another act of contrition on my part. I have wronged you in many ways, but hopefully, I can slowly begin to gain your forgiveness and regain your trust."

She sighed.

"Thanks, Xanatos. I know you're trying." She then turned to face everyone else around her. "Thank you again to all of you. My baby is one lucky kid to have all of you in his or her life…" She turned back to Xanatos. "…even you, Xanatos." He laughed. She inhaled, taking in a mixture of smells with the air she breathed.

"Mmm…what did you cook, Broadway?" Elisa asked, feeling suddenly famished.

"Some of your favourites, Elisa. Let's eat?" Broadway asked optimistically.

"Yea, let's get something to eat." Elisa said, nodding and rising from her seat next to the table of gifts. The group of mutates, Derek, Maggie, the Mazas and the Xanatoses followed Broadway and the rest of the clan into the kitchen to eat.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7: A Child is Born Part 1

**_Disclaimer: I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please? _**

(a special thanks goes out to Ingram! He helped me figure some things out plot-wise. You are awesome, dude)

**7—A Child is Born Part 1**

_July 27, 1997 8:17pm_

The castle came to life after the sun set that evening, releasing castle Wyvern's protectors from their stone-encased slumber. The inhabitants of the castle flocked to the Great Hall, which had been the setting for Elisa's baby shower nearly two weeks earlier. Now the clan were getting used to having Elisa around all the time, without worrying that she would have to work. She was now on maternity leave, which left her with a lot of extra time with her best friends.

Broadway stepped off the ledge where she had slept,  
and turned to look at his 'girlfriend', Angela, who was speaking with her father (though that wasn't the term that gargoyles should be using with regards to their relationship). Coincidentally, that was exactly what he wanted to talk to Angela about this evening. Since the announcement of their love, the clan had been very supportive of them, but he thought that their relationship should truly be official.  
Since he was a hatchling, Broadway had always envisioned his mating ceremony as being with the gargoyle female that he could love, cherish and protect for the rest of their lives. He now had this female, and he was ecstatic and a better gargoyle for it, but all that was missing was to make their relationship official in the eyes of the clan.

Traditionally, gargoyles did not give gifts to one another to signify their intention for each other, as humans do with engagement rings for their females, but Broadway had decided that since they now lived in modern times, that he'd change up the tradition and give her something like the humans do.

He walked over to the wall farthest away from the clan's roosting ledges, and pushed a stone on the wall inward. Immediately, a small square-shaped portion of the wall creaked and slid to the side, revealing a secret compartment. This little hole in the wall had been used back in the zenith of Castle Wyvern to store weapons and slingshots. Broadway had used this hiding place often in those days (usually to hide his stash of food…). In this place now rested a long velvet box. Smiling, Broadway grabbed the slender box in his talons and touched the brick in the wall again. The compartment disappeared behind the square shaped piece of wall that slid back into place.

He opened the box to view the contents. It was a delicate-looking chain-link necklace made of yellow gold. The moonlight bounced off of the chains, creating the effect of a hundred stars on each link. Broadway smiled, looking at the fine piece of jewellery.

"Perfect."

**_8:23pm, Castle Wyvern_**

The entire clan, with exception of Goliath, (who was in the library reading) were seated in the Great Hall, watching the news for anything interesting that was happening in their city this evening. Broadway entered the hall, holding the slender box behind his back, walking towards the sofa where Angela, Brooklyn and Hudson were seated. Broadway cleared his throat, and solemnly said, "Angela, can I see you outside for a minute?" and then walked back towards the courtyard outside. Angela scrunched up her eyebrows, cocked her head and gave everyone around her a confused look.

"Sure…" she replied and followed Broadway outside. The others looked cautiously after her.

"What do ya think that was all about now?" Hudson asked.  
"I have no clue. But he didn't look too happy." Brooklyn replied, almost happily.  
Could this be his chance with Angela? Was Broadway breaking up with her? That wouldn't make sense, but Brooklyn didn't care; his hopes soared as he sat,  
pretending not to have one ear listening to the conversation outside and one ear listening to the television.

Once at the courtyard, Angela called to Broadway as she stood behind him. He was staring out onto the scenery that was laid out before him of Manhattan at night. A glorious view, but not as glorious as the view he had behind him, he thought. He turned around, still with a solemn look.

"Broadway? What's the matter?"

"I wanted to tell you that I love you, Angela, and I always will."

She smiled in relief. At least he wasn't breaking up with her…would it be called 'breaking up'?

"I know, Broadway. But something is wrong. What is it?"

He looked down to the brick floor beneath their feet.

"We can't go on like this—I can't go on like this." He looked back up at his love.  
She grew worried again with his cryptic words. Before she could reply, he turned around to pick up the box with the necklace that he had put on the wall and turned back to her. Her look grew more confused and less worried.

"Angela, I know this isn't the custom but—"

"What is this, love?" He opened the box and showed the contents to her, which caused her mouth to open in surprise.

"Will you be my mate, Angela? Can we glide together for the rest of our days?" Much to Broadway's surprise, Angela became emotional, forgot about the contents of the box completely, and leaned over and hugged him fiercely, wrapping her arms around him. In reaction, he quickly closed the box, wrapped his arms around her as well as his wings. This embrace of love lasted for a few moments, and then Broadway remembered that she hadn't responded yet to his question. His wings unwrapped themselves from around her, but his arms lingered on her waist as he asked, "So, my love, is that a yes?"

"Yes," She whispered, rubbing her brow ridges to his. He let her go, then opened the velvet box again, took the necklace out and unclasped it.

"This is for you, Angela. I hope you like it." She looked at it briefly before holding her hair up to allow Broadway to put it around her willowy neck.

"Oh, Broadway, this is gorgeous!"

"Not as gorgeous as you are…"

"We should tell the others…and father should know as well tonight…and Elisa." She cringed as she said Elisa's name.

"What's wrong? Why did you just do that?" Broadway asked confusedly.

"Well, the baby is due any day now. I don't want to make everything about us right now."

Broadway smiled warmly. "That's not a problem, Angela. We can have the ceremony after the baby is born." That made Angela grin even more than she already was.

"I think that would be the best option, Broadway." He finished clasping the necklace, and walked around to see his piece of jewellery on her neck.

"Beautiful!" He exclaimed. "Now, we should tell them." Angela nodded.

"Father should get Elisa, though. I want her to be here when we tell everyone." She said, planting a small kiss upon Broadway's cheek. She then dashed off in the direction of the library. "I'll go tell him!"

"Father?" She called as she entered the library. The calming sound of the fire crackling could be heard from where she stood.

"Yes, Angela, I am in here." The booming voice of her father resounded through the library. She walked until she came upon the sofa Goliath and Elisa usually sat upon while he read to her, which was directly in front of the fireplace. He looked up from his copy of "Heart of Darkness" to look at his daughter's face, smiling contentedly.

"Father, Broadway and I have something to tell the clan. Would it be alright if you were to get Elisa and bring her to the castle? I would like her to be present when we tell everyone…our news." She said, barely containing her smile. He nodded.

"Of course, Angela. I was going to get her in a few minutes actually. What is the nature of this news?" He asked curiously.

"It is of the happiest kind, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. We are going to go on patrol. Afterwards, we'll announce the news. Thank you, father!" She smiled again, waved, then dashed off. Her giddiness made her seem as if she were a youngling, Goliath thought. He had never seen his daughter so happy, and was relieved that Broadway was the cause of this happiness. In all honesty, he had always thought that Brooklyn would have been the victor in the battle against the other younger members of the clan for Angela's heart, if only for his aesthetic qualities, but Broadway was the most sensitive of the clan members, and Goliath knew now, after seeing the two of them together frequently, that Broadway would gladly die than to see Angela hurt or upset. Goliath knew how that feeling went: it was the way he felt for Elisa. Time and again, he would have gladly laid down his life to protect her. When she was kidnapped by Tony Dracon, he finally understood that her love meant everything to him, and it had pained him deeply to even know that Dracon had hurt her both physically and emotionally and that he was unable to prevent it.

When she returned, his thoughts were focused upon her, and he never hesitated to tell her whenever he had an opportunity that his love for her was deep and strong. He also never hesitated to see her whenever he had a free moment, if only from the sky above her. Now that she was on maternity leave, however, he was able to see much more of her and was very grateful for that.

Watching his daughter trot out of the library in such excitement, Goliath decided that he would save the rest of this book for another night. He shared the giddiness Angela felt suddenly when his thoughts went again to his Elisa. Now that she was due to have her child any day now, his protectiveness knew no boundaries when concerned with her. He rose from his seat, dog-earing the page he was last reading, and closed the book. He put the book upon the side table and walked towards the entrance of the library, on his way to see his love.

_9:20pm_

"Cagney, come on over here! I put your food out!" Elisa called, sounding drained of all energy. She bent down as far as her greatly protruding belly would allow to drop Cagney's food bowl on the floor in its usual spot. Instead, it slipped out of her hand and crashed to the freshly-cleaned floor, expelling all of the cat's food onto the cabinet doors and the refrigerator door, and smashing the cat's bowl into about fifty different pieces.

"Damnit…" Elisa exclaimed, inspecting the mess she had just made. "Man, I can't even bend down anymore…" She tried once more to bend down to begin cleaning the mash of cat food and bowl. She bent her back and her knees in her attempt, but it was no use. She nearly fell forward from the strain. She groaned in frustration. Just then,  
a slight tapping noise came from the sliding window. She ceased her most recent attempt to bend down and straightened up to see Goliath tapping upon the door.  
Smiling, and welcoming a distraction from the mess she had just made, she tip toed around the mess in the kitchen as best she could, and walked towards the sliding glass door. She let Goliath into the apartment. As he draped his wings over his shoulders, his look turned from happiness to worry.

"What has happened? You look very annoyed." He said. She laughed internally; he could always read her like a book.

"Yea, I just dropped Cagney's food bowl onto the floor…it was full of cat food." She exhaled, waving one hand to motion to the kitchen and placing another hand on her lower back. It started to pain her slightly at that moment. "And I can't even bend down to clean it up." Goliath walked over to the kitchen. He inspected the mess,  
seeing speckles of brown cat food across the lower half of some of the cabinet doors, as well as a fair bit splattered across the refrigerator.

"Yes, it is quite a mess in here. Do not worry, darling. I will clean this for you.  
You need to be off of your feet. Dr. Alban said—"

"Goliath, I know what Dr. Alban said, but, honestly, if I am going to follow everything that Dr. Alban says, I'll never get anything done. Let me help you at least." She walked over towards Goliath, but he put out an arm to prevent her from entering the disaster area.

"No, my love. Please, let me do this for you…" He paused. "Um…just tell me where all of your cleaning utensils are"  
She smiled at his words, gave up, and pointed to the closet door only a few steps away.

"The mop is in there, and a dust pan. You can put the broken pieces of the bowl in that garbage." She walked over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair to take a much needed seat, and to give her a front row view of Goliath actually cleaning something.

"I'll be right here. Thanks, Big Guy." He turned toward her, bent to her level and kissed her forehead.

"It is nothing, my Elisa." He then turned back and got to work.

Elisa watched as Goliath picked up the various shards of cat bowl scattered across the tiled floor and she couldn't help but smile at how domestic he really was. Though she had always pictured him as a warrior—probably one of the greatest warriors on earth—she knew there was a sensitive side to him and loved watching this side show itself every time it did. It seemed to be more often than not recently, but that was, as Elisa told herself, because of this pregnancy of hers. His infamous temper, which had appeared a lot during the Hunter's Moon, had all but disappeared as of late, and he was being a lot more open with his feelings, especially for a certain detective around a certain clan. A few times, as with most pregnancies, Braxton Hicks contractions set in for Elisa two nights prior to this night, and caused Goliath extreme worry and panic. Once the contractions had subsided and he had made sure that all was well with Elisa and the baby, he had eased up, though he made sure to let the clan know that he would be watching over Elisa for the rest of the night instead of patrolling. As much as she resisted, she honestly loved this protective side of him. True, sometimes it bordered on being overbearing, but whenever this happened, she would lovingly remind him that she was a grown woman who could presumably take care of herself.

Cleaning up the mess took Goliath nearly a half an hour, since the cat food was basically chunks of tuna mixed with some sort of thick brownish liquid that stunk up the kitchen cabinets until the spots where the cat food had landed were thoroughly cleaned with anti-bacterial soap. Goliath did not object to Elisa's quasi-order to clean the cabinets in this manner. He knew that the smell would soon be unbearable, even for a cat-lover, unless properly and painstakingly cleaned. He simply nodded, took the anti-bacterial detergent and went to work. By the time he had finished, the floor was once again immaculate, as were the cabinet doors, and the refrigerator door as well. He positioned the mop to lean against the wall and walked over to Elisa, who was still examining his working habits while she sat at the kitchen table. He knelt to one knee before her, took her hand and smiled. She was the first to speak.

"Thank you so much, Big Guy. I really couldn't have done all that…or I could have,  
but it would have taken me ten times as long." She laughed, stroking his hand in hers.

"It was nothing, Elisa." Goliath cupped her cheek in his massive taloned hand. She leaned her head towards him to truly feel all the love within this simple touch, and let out a quiet sigh of contentment. She then looked down to the belly that was causing her so much weariness. The child within was kicking lightly, and caused her to feel the need to rest her hand upon her belly in an effort to relax the child; it didn't work.

"He or she is getting restless. I've had those false contractions every other day since last week. Something's gotta give soon. It feels like I've been pregnant forever!" She exhaled loudly and slumped her shoulders. Goliath released her cheek and rested his own hand on her tummy over hers.

"Dr. Alban said that the child will be ready to come any day now, so it cannot be very long before you have your child in your arms, darling." His words, though she had heard them before numerous times on every other occasion that she had the same type of complaint, comforted her ever so much. She grinned and closed her eyes, just thinking about having the child in her arms—a thought she had every waking minute of every single day.

"I know, Goliath. But it's just that I am so excited…I just want to call everyone and say, 'hey! I've got great news!'" At the mention of the word 'news' Goliath's eyes widened as if he had just remembered something of vital importance.

"Elisa, that reminds me. Angela informed me that she and Broadway had some news they wished to share with the clan, and with you, and asked me to bring you to the castle.  
Are you feeling well enough for me to carry you there?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm good. Just let me grab a bottle of water, and we can go."

_10:03pm_

Patrol was relatively quiet and boring tonight, thankfully. If something had come up that would have prevented Angela and Broadway to announce their intention for each other, Angela would have felt horrible for piquing her father's interest in their news before they actually would reveal it.

Angela soared beside Broadway high above Times Square, with Brooklyn and Lexington following closely behind them. She looked over to Broadway, who hadn't stopped smiling the entire time they were patrolling, as did she. She turned back to Brooklyn, who was looking as downtrodden as ever and stated, "I think we can return to the castle now. We've been patrolling for nearly two hours and we've seen nothing." Brooklyn surveyed the area, obviously seeing nothing of interest.

"Yeah, I guess we should just call it a night. Let's go." Brooklyn paused to watch Angela and Broadway soar off faster ahead of them. They had been in a state of bliss since they left the castle to patrol. Whatever they were smiling about had to also be the reason why they were in such a rush to get back to the castle. He turned to Lexington, who had been oblivious to Angela and Broadway's happy mood.

"Why are they all happy tonight?" Brooklyn wondered aloud.

Lexington scrunched up his brow ridges.

"Brook, you need to let this go…"

Brooklyn was taken back by Lexington's uncharacteristic remark.

"W-what are you—"

"I see the way you still look at her. I may be into computers, but I can also de-code people. You hate the fact that Broadway has won. Just be happy for them, Brook. I am. Our time will come. You'll see." Lexington's sudden wisdom was not completely lost on Brooklyn. He shook his head, exhaled noisily, scowled and followed suit towards the castle.

_10:10pm_

Elisa sat upon the sofa where the entire clan congregated in the Great Hall, trying to fight off another mild contraction silently, though Goliath, with his eyes sharpened to notice any change in Elisa's face, had known the entire time, and held her hand to help her through it. Hudson sat in his recliner by the television with Bronx in front of him, who was happily wagging his nub of a tail and relaxing comfortably. The trio and Angela could be heard landing outside. As they all walked through the doors, Goliath felt the urge to ask of the news, but decided against it, and instead, asked how patrol went.

"Fine. Nothing interesting happened tonight." Lexington replied calmly, looking over at Brooklyn.

"Yeah, the city seemed to be asleep tonight." Brooklyn added, watching Angela from the corner of his eye. She was fiddling with a necklace around her neck and smiling angelically. Was that new? He had never seen that before. But it certainly was beautiful on her.

"Broadway?" Elisa called. Broadway left Angela's side and walked over to Elisa. "I know you always love to feel this. Gimme your hand." He was intrigued by the movements of the child within, and was fascinated with feeling it. She reached for his hand and put it over her tummy briefly. She looked up at him, and saw his very impressed face.

"Wow. I'll never get tired of that, Elisa!" He exclaimed. She laughed, as did Goliath.

"Well, Broadway, you'll have to, because this kid is going to be coming out soon. And then you'll have a real squirming kid in your arms as opposed to in there" Apparently, the Braxton Hicks were subsiding because Elisa wouldn't be conversing very much if they hadn't.

Angela suddenly decided that this was the time. She was dying to tell everyone of their news all evening, but she wanted to just blurt it out. She walked over to Broadway, gave him a look full of meaning, and cleared her throat.

"Everyone, Broadway and I have something we'd like to announce." She glared at Broadway to continue. He had no idea what the look she was throwing at him was for, and kept silent.

"Broadway? Would you like to tell everyone our news?" She smiled, and nudged him to continue. He finally took the hint.

"Oh, right! Well, everyone, Angela and I have agreed that…well…um"

Angela couldn't take this any longer.

"He asked me to be his mate! We're going to be mated!" She exclaimed happily and ecstatically. Instantly, the couple were surrounded by smiles.

"'Tis excellent news, lad. My congratulations to ye both!" Hudson said.

"Yes, Angela. This is truly wonderful news. I am so happy for you." Goliath said, taking his daughter up in a hug and then shaking Broadway's hand in the standard gargoyle style. Elisa rose from her seat to hug Angela.

"This is awesome news Angela! This is—" Elisa's look contorted into that of surprise and a little bit of pain intermingled with it. The clan stopped dead.

"What is it, Elisa?" Angela asked, terrified.

"I think…..oh….yep…..my water just broke…" She said, holding her stomach with both hands and looking down and the tiny puddle accumulating upon the stone floor that originated from her pant leg.

Goliath took her hands into his own and looked at Elisa with worry.

"What do we do, love?" He asked, feeling slightly panicked. She smiled at him through a new contraction.

"Someone call Xanatos. I'll need to use his facilities. And someone else call Dr. Alban and tell him that my water broke. Until he gets here, though, there's nothing we can do but wait."

_10:36pm_

In one of the lower levels of the Eyrie building, a birthing room had already been set up and stocked with the finest equipment for aiding in childbirth. After Xanatos had been informed that Elisa was going into labour, Dr. Alban also was called, and they were both on the scene only ten minutes later. Along with the doctor, a few nursing staff were brought on to aid in the birth as well. Elisa's contractions had become closer together and Dr. Alban had told her that she was progressing through the birth surprisingly quickly, as she was already dilated 4 centimetres. Elisa's parents were called to the Eyrie Building, as well as Talon. They all stayed in her room. Dr. Alban checked in on her every so often to ensure things were progressing well. Though the gargoyles were worried about their dearest friend, Dr. Alban tried to reassure them that before they knew it, she would have her baby and everything would be back to normal. However, things didn't go as fast as all that…

By 4:15am, Elisa was still only dilated 41/2 centimetres, and it looked like there was no end in sight. Elisa's contractions were slow, and she suddenly became very emotional as well as very tired. She would close her eyes for a few minutes at a time, trying to regain her strength. She knew she would need it for when the baby was ready to come out. Goliath was at her side the entire time, trying to keep her mind off of things…

"Goliath?" Elisa called quietly to him as her eyes opened. She saw him sitting beside her bed, studying her face as he always did. She instantly thought of how lucky she was to have his love.

"Yes, Elisa."

"My contractions are starting to get worse. They are really beginning to hurt and I don't know if I can handle them. I'm really scared." She admitted, feeling a rush of tears sweep over her. She never had told Goliath or anyone for that matter how terrified she actually was of giving birth, though she knew it was a means to an end, and a means to bring her her son or daughter: it had to be done.

Sympathetically, Goliath held her hand and brushed away a stray hair from her forehead. Looking down lovingly at her, he said, "You are the strongest person I know, or will ever know. You have stood up to some of the worst criminals in the city and have laughed about the encounter afterwards. I know you can do this. Remember that these are only hours that will be forgotten once a child is placed in your arms. Be strong, my love. I am here to help you get through this difficult time." She shook her head.

"And when you become lawn furniture before I have the baby? What then?" She asked,  
letting her emotion spill out.

"You have your family and Fox and Matt. They are all here to support you. You are never alone when we are all here for you." He said, motioning to the door to the room, indicating that they were all outside the door. She sighed, and leaned her head against the pillow again, smiling. There were fresh tears in her eyes, ready to be released.

"I know, Big Guy." She peered over his shoulder to the window, which displayed a glorious sunrise peeking above the horizon, signalling the beginning of a new day, and the near end of her conversation with her beloved. "It's almost sunrise. Damnit…I wish you didn't have to turn to stone. I need you most of all…" The tears spilled from her chocolate brown eyes. Goliath clutched onto her tense hands and touched her face gently before rising from his seat.

"I know, Elisa, but I will be here, outside this door. I will always be here for you. Be strong. I will see you soon, beloved." He leaned down once again, kissed her lips tenderly and released her hand. Goliath made towards the door and smiled at her.

Though Elisa really wanted to protest against his leaving her at this crucial point in the birth, she knew there would be no use. Also, she knew deep within herself that Goliath would never abandon her when she needed him. As the sun peaked over the horizon, she could hear the distinct sound of purple skin turning to stone outside of her room.

"Great. Just great. Now all I can do is wait for this kid to be ready…"

_3:40pm, July 28_

Screams filled with pain and agony could be heard down the hallway of the medical ward in the Eyrie Building. Elisa was in the throes of labour, and she had been too late to ask for an epidural. Her family sat outside of the room, listening with horror as it sounded like she was being murdered.

"Shouldn't one of us be in there with her?" Talon asked as he paced back and forth outside Elisa's room. Diane shook her head calmly.

"It sounds worse than it is. And besides, she asked that no one be in there with her except the doctor and nurses. We must respect her wishes. You don't want to cross a woman in labour." She replied knowingly, sounding as if her words came from experience. Peter nodded, smiling ever so slightly. His eyes told his son, daughter and wife that he agreed with Diane's remarks.

"No, you don't. I have three separate sets of scars to prove that." Beth, who had been quiet the entire time, suddenly rose from her seat beside her father.

"Can't the doctors do something for her? I can't stand to hear her screaming like this!" Beth said, shaking her head sadly and rubbing her hands together.

"Beth, Dr. Alban said that she is fully dilated, and these are the last few moments before the baby is born. Patience." Diane said, trying to keep her calm demeanour, though it was hard amidst her eldest daughter's screams.

_3:55pm_

"Elisa, you are almost there, dear. One more push!" Dr. Alban yelled excitedly from between her legs.

An exhausted Elisa shook her head slowly.

"God, I can't do it! I'm so tired. I have no strength left. What is wrong with me? I never scream like this…" She asked the doctor. His head couldn't be seen but his words were audible.

"Every woman experiences labour in different ways. Your way has been emotional, and that's okay, dear. Now you need to gather up your strength and push just once more. The baby is crowning!"

Elisa swallowed hard, told herself, 'this is almost over…just do it…for your baby' and pushed with all her might. She exhaled noisily, expelling tears from her eyes. She suddenly heard the cries of her baby, and looked up to see the nurses and Dr. Alban crowding around the child, and hurriedly cleaning the child of blood and mucus, as well as all of his orifices. Dr. Alban then held up the still crying baby to show Elisa.

"Elisa! You have a son!" He cried out joyfully. "Note the time: 3:57pm, July 28,  
1997." He called out to the nurse. Elisa stared at her son for a second before he was wrapped up in a blanket and laid into her arms. Looking down at him, all that she could do was cry and smile and stare.

"He's perfect." She whispered. She looked up at Dr. Alban who was anxiously cleaning up the room along with the nurses. After a few moments, he walked over to her, placed a hand upon her head and smiled.

"So, what will you name him?"

"Adam. Adam Thomas Maza."

"That sounds great, dear. Now, I hate to do this, but I must take him to be thoroughly cleaned and taken care of." Dr. Alban replied, reaching for the child. Elisa grew defensive, turning her body away from the doctor and shielding her son from his hands. Instantly, she realised what she was doing, looked down at her child in disbelief, and softened.

"Sorry, doctor. I don't know what just came over me." She said, slowly handing her son to Dr. Alban. "Will you bring him back soon? I want to spend some time with him." The child squirmed in the doctor's arms, but he seemed like a veteran when it came to holding children, for he knew exactly in which way to hold a squirming child in his arms. "Of course, Elisa. Soon." He answered, half way through the door.

Feeling utterly exhausted, Elisa decided to close her eyes. She didn't keep them closed for very long, because her parents, sister and brother entered her room shortly after.

"Elisa, how are you feeling?" Her mother asked, grabbing a chair and dragging it to the side of her bed. Her father stood directly beside her. On the other side of the bed, there stood her furry brother and her college student sister, looking worried.

"I'm fine, guys. I have a son."

"We know. We saw the doctor holding him. He's beautiful." Beth replied.

"Did you name him, Elisa?" Talon interjected.

"Yea, I did actually. I named him Adam Thomas Maza, after Officer O'Riley." Elisa felt proud to say that. Not only had Adam given his life to protect her, but to protect her son as well. Now, he would always be watching over her son. And every time she called her son, she'd remember Adam's ultimate sacrifice to her and be grateful to have had him as a friend. She sensed that her family around her shared her sentiments, because they were all smiling, except for her mother, who was crying now.

"Mom, don't cry. I have my son. He's healthy and safe. That's all that matters now."

Diane smiled through her tears.

"It was nearly eight months ago that we sat in this very room and you told me you were pregnant. And now my little girl has had her son. Peter, we are grandparents"  
She cried. Talon and Beth went to Diane and Peter.

"Yes, Diane, we are grandparents, but more importantly, Elisa is a mother now." He chuckled quietly. "…a mother who is exhausted. Let's give her some time to rest.  
We'll all come back later tonight, ok, Elisa?" She grinned.

"Please. Thanks, Dad." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, something he never did before. She knew it was because of the heightened emotions in the room.

"Ok, you're right, Peter. We'll be back later on, honey." Diane said, wiping her tears, and smiling.

"Well, sis, I don't know if I'll be back. Maggie needed me in the Labyrinth before…"

His sister interrupted him.

"Don't worry, Derek. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Beth cringed.

"Actually, I have to get back, too. Can I—"

"Yea, Beth, not a problem. See you tomorrow, too." Elisa replied before she could answer. She waved to her siblings and watched as they both left the room, followed by her reluctant parents. Finally, she thought, I can actually sleep.

Sleep quickly took her. She woke only after sunset and only because she sensed Goliath's presence beside her. She opened her eyes slowly, seeing a serene and peaceful Goliath looking back at her.

"I am so sorry that I had to leave you, my love. Forgive me?" Elisa laughed.

"Of course, Big Guy. You had nothing to do with it. Did you hear?" She asked coyly.

"Yes, it was a boy. Congratulations, Elisa." Goliath took her hand and kissed it tenderly.

"It was hard, but it's true what they say about labour. Once I saw my son's face and held him in my arms, the pain was gone and I only felt joy." Elisa stated.

Just then, Dr. Alban opened the door and entered the room, carrying a clipboard. He smiled profoundly when he saw Goliath seated beside Elisa. He walked over to where Elisa's chart was at the foot of her bed and wrote something down on his clipboard.

"How are you feeling, Elisa?" He asked curiously.

"Kinda sore, but otherwise just tired."

"Hmmm…" Dr. Alban muttered. He turned suddenly and was about to leave the room when Goliath called out to him.

"Doctor, when will Elisa see her son?" The doctor turned back to face them, wrote something else in his chart and said, "Soon, Goliath. Soon. I have to make a phone call. Give me a moment, please." And with that, he left just as abruptly as he had entered. Goliath and Elisa exchanged perplexed looks.

Back in another room on the same floor of the Eyrie Building, where Dr. Alban had made an office for himself, he sat at his desk looking over the clipboard he had just written on. He nervously looked back and forth between the clipboard, the telephone on his desk and a phone number scribbled upon a Post-it note stuck onto the clipboard. He grabbed the receiver and dialled the phone number upon the clipboard.

It rang only once.

"Dracon." The elderly, but fierce voice said on the other end.

"This is Alban. You have a grandson, sir."

A pause on the phone.

"Excellent." The voice finally said. "I will send my limo to pick you and the child up now."

"No!" Dr. Alban cried, perhaps a little too hastily.

"No? What do you mean, no? Do you know that I can give the order and have your wife and family murdered this very second if I so decide?"

"Sir, I meant that the child is not ready to be transported yet. He was born with…complications." Dr. Alban said unconvincingly. The sound of the elderly voice making a 'tsk'-ing noise could be heard.

"Alban, I have lived many, many years, and have dealt with far less incompetent buffoons than you. You are lying, and your family will pay for it, unless, of course, you get my grandson ready for pick up in one hour. And administer what I told you to. Mrs. Dracon must not live to see another day, Alban. She is already outliving her usefulness." Dr. Alban considered all of his options in a split second, and knew that it had to be done.

"Yes, sir." He finally said. "Adam will be ready for pick up in one hour."

"Adam! The whore named him? No, no, no, this will not do. His name is Anthony,  
after Tony, his father. Now, I will personally see to it that Anthony is picked up without incident. See you then."

Click.

Dr. Alban gulped loudly, looking down at the small glass jar that Dominic had given him when he had first blackmailed him into keeping him informed of the developments into Elisa's pregnancy. Dominic had told him that once the child is born, he should administer this poison to Elisa to kill her. Dr. Alban felt a shudder run through him. Over the last few months, he had become rather fond of the detective. She was a good person, and didn't deserve to die simply because she was the mother to the Dracon heir. Regardless, Alban thought, Dominic will kill me and my family if I do not…

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Elisa asked as Dr. Alban again entered her room abruptly.  
This time, however, he held in his wrinkled but skilled hands a syringe.

His look softened when she asked him what was wrong.

"Dear, nothing. Adam is just in the next room. We will be bringing him out to you right now. But I have to give you this pain killer." He motioned to his hand.

"But I don't feel a lot of pain. Really, there would be no need. I'm fine." Elisa answered with a smile, almost feeling boastful for not being in pain.

"Nonetheless, dear, this will help you to sleep and when you wake up, you'll feel much better!" He said with a laugh. He reached for the IV drip that had been switched off for a few hours now, and injected the serum into the drip. He then switched it back on, allowing the poison he had just injected to begin its course through Elisa's bloodstream. What a waste of a good person and good police officer, Dr. Alban thought.

"If you say so, Doc." Elisa conceded.

"Now, then, I must get back to Adam. He'll be brought to you momentarily."

"Thank you, Dr. Alban, for everything."

Dr. Alban was about to leave the room when he turned around to face her one last time.

"Goodbye, Elisa." He replied sadly, and then exited before she had a chance to answer.

He walked briskly out into the hallway towards where Adam was sleeping in a hospital-style crib. Thankfully, there actually had been nothing wrong with him, though Dr. Alban had hoped that Dominic would have bought that explanation for why it was taking so long to prepare him for transportation.

Standing over the sleeping newborn, he saw an instant resemblance to the detective, simply by way of his golden skin and blue-black hair upon his oval-shaped head. The top of his head was still cone-shaped, but he knew that this would recede after some time. Though he had never been shown a picture of Tony Dracon before, Dr. Alban knew that this child was, thankfully, going to be very similar in appearance to Elisa. He took a deep breath and picked up the child carefully. As he did so, Adam began screaming loudly in the way only a newborn knew how. The screams echoed, and bounced off the walls, creating even more of a cry. Dr. Alban was quick in his work, bundling up the child in two blankets and covering his head. He walked out of the room carrying his precious cargo, and hating himself for it every step of the way.

In the parking lot of the Eyrie Building, the security cameras caught a black limousine, license plate DD, pulling up, opening its doors, and Dr. Alban entering the limousine while carrying a white bundle that wriggled under his grasp. The limousine began driving off, then suddenly stopped. The door opened again, and Dr. Alban was pushed out of the car, clutching onto his torso, and a pool of red oozing out of him. The limousine then squealed off, leaving the doctor behind.

"Flat line! What the hell is going on here?" The nurse shouted as she wheeled the cardiac difibulator into Elisa's room and set the charge. Another nurse was trying to stabilize Elisa, as her pulse had suddenly dropped, and then flatlined only moments earlier. Goliath had been sitting with Elisa when she suddenly fell out of consciousness without warning. Extremely worried, he had run to get a nurse. When the nurse had arrived, Elisa was on the brink of flatlining.

The nurses cleared the room. The nurse shouted, "Ready? CLEAR!" and let the charge try to kick-start Elisa's heart again. Elisa's otherwise lifeless body shook with the electricity that had just been forced into her through the paddles.

"Nothing. Again!" The nurse cried out. The charge was set again. "CLEAR!" And Elisa's body again jumped nearly a foot off of the bed with the electricity. Goliath stood in the doorway, tense and terrified. He had no idea what to do to save his Elisa. There was nothing he could do.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	8. Chapter 8: A Child is Born Part 2

**_Disclaimer: I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by those geniuses over at Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_**

**_9—A Child is Born Part 2_**

_**July 28, 10:11pm **_

Goliath stood by the door of the medical ward's room, watching the scene before him in horror. He watched as three nurses hovered around Elisa, attempting to recover her vital signs to no avail. After the second time the nurses used the paddles on her, causing the lifeless body to levitate a foot off of the bed, Goliath, with the tears falling freely at this time, felt that he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. He grabbed the communicator around his neck and cried, "Brooklyn! Hudson! Anyone! Get Puck! Pl—" Puck appeared instantly, along with one year old Alexander Xanatos, in front of Goliath before he could even finish his sentence. Puck's usual mirth was replaced by concern. Even Alexander, who hovered off the ground like Puck was looking scared, but ready to do something to help. Before Goliath even had time to explain the situation, Puck looked at Alex and nodded.

"Remember what I told you, kid."

Alexander hovered over to the nurses working on Elisa, who immediately stopped as they saw the child floating at their eye level. One even yelped out in surprise.

"Ladies, give him one moment with Elisa. Please step back. We'll need you shortly." Puck said, almost in the same tone of voice that Owen would use on his subordinates. Alex, now unhindered by the nurses, floated over to Elisa, looked down at her with a determined look that was probably not possible with any other year old toddler, and extended his hands. He opened his mouth to chant something, but the voice that came from this child wasn't his own; it sounded aged, experienced. It was the magic speaking, Goliath knew.

"Something evil has been done, something kills this lov-ed one, show us now what caused this pain, so that it may never happen again…" Alex chanted. Instantly, a cloud appeared over Elisa's still form, and what looked like a scene from a movie came on in the midst of this cloud. Dr. Alban's worn hands appeared in this cloud, holding a syringe, and then placing the tip of the syringe to the IV drip connected to Elisa's hand. Goliath's jaw dropped. It had been that 'pain killer' that Dr. Alban had administered just ten minutes earlier that had deprived Goliath of his love, and Adam of his mother. Goliath cursed internally, and vowed that he would take revenge on Dr. Alban if it was the last thing he ever did. But for now, perhaps Puck and Alex could do something. He looked over at Puck.

"Surely you can save her!" He asked desperately. Puck shook his head.

"Alexander can't bring her back to life. He can only rid her body of the poison that stopped her heart." Goliath's eyes blazed white with anger. Puck ignored Goliath's obvious anger and said, "Do what I showed you, Alex." Alexander waved his already extended arms over Elisa's body.

"The poison now within this frame has made this woman weak and lame, so hear me as I command to you, be gone from this body, fair and true!"

As Alex yelled out these words, Elisa's body suddenly levitated horizontally and was encased in a silvery puff of smoke. Her lifeless arms hung loosely at her sides, and her hair flowed behind her head. Her mouth opened wide, and a greyish black smoke that had the appearance of exhaust fumes was expelled from her mouth. The silvery smoke surrounding her began to disappear as she was gently placed back on the bed. As he watched this, Goliath turned to Puck. Puck looked somewhat relieved at his apprentice's good incantation. Goliath wasn't impressed, however.

"What good will this do if her heart is stopped?"

Puck floated away from Goliath's grasp, then to Alexander.

"That's what we need these ladies for!" He motioned to the nurses who were using the difibulator on Elisa only moments earlier. They were huddled in the corner of the room, gasping at what they were witnessing.

"We've done all we can. The rest is up to you, ladies." Puck waved a finger at the difibulator machine. "Go to it!" He exclaimed, causing the nurses to jolt out of their state of awe after watching a one-year-old baby chant something that caused Elisa to rise from the bed and let some strange grey smoke out of her mouth. They rushed to her side and resumed using the cardiac difibulator machine. The younger looking nurse put the jelly on the paddles, while one of the other nurses moved Elisa's shirt again to expose her chest, which was where the machine needed to make contact. The younger nurse positioned the paddles again and yelled, "CLEAR!" and directed the paddles onto Elisa's waiting chest. She was again raised from the bed for a few seconds, and then crashed down again. The older looking nurse looked over at the display which still showed a flat line.

"Again!" She called.

Again, the process was done, and again no pulse could be relocated. Goliath's tears were uncontrollable now. The greatest warrior on earth, and there was no controlling his emotions at this point. He wrenched his hands together, never letting his eyes leave the action going on around Elisa for a second. After all that Puck had just done, she was still going to be lost to him and to everyone that loved her. He felt like screaming and breaking something, but knew that it would be completely inappropriate at such a time. After the second attempt at restarting her heart had failed, the older nurse looked over at the two younger ones. With a sorrowful face, she said, "One more time, then we have to call it in." Goliath shook his head, watching all hope fade away just by seeing the mournful faces on the nurses. Tears were not enough to express what he felt at this moment. He saw his future with his love slipping into oblivion. Flashes of their first kiss, their first dance, their first embrace danced in his mind and he could do nothing but watch them and mourn.

As the nurses tried their final attempt, the eldest nurse was about to note the time on a clipboard when a faint beeping sound was audible from somewhere in the room. All three nurses, Alexander, Puck and Goliath turned to the heart monitor Elisa was hooked up to and saw a line moving forward and then climbing up, and then descending again. Elisa's heart had started to beat again. Goliath was in disbelief. He turned to the eldest nurse, who apparently was in disbelief as well, and asked, "What does this mean?" She smiled sympathetically and replied, "She's back." The other nurses looked about as relieved as the older one looked.

"I don't know what the hell just happened here, but she's back, and she was only out for a few minutes. She should suffer no brain damage." The other nurses smiled, and the youngest one even let a tear slip from her small eyes. Goliath looked incredulously at Elisa's face, which already looked more coloured than it did only moments before. He was about to walk to her and grasp her hand when he was distracted by a flash of light that was Puck reconfiguring himself into Owen Burnett. He stood where Puck was hovering, and held a sleepy-looking Alexander in his arms.

"Goliath, I must tell you that I saw Dr. Alban get into a black limousine with Adam Maza, and then driving off. It was caught on our surveillance cameras. A moment or two later, the vehicle stopped, and Dr. Alban was thrown out. I suggest you get down to shipping area B now. I will inform the others of your whereabouts. There will be time for explanations later." He stated in his typical Owen Burnett style—as if nothing incredibly stressful or dangerous had just happened in this room. Goliath nodded, and dashed out of the room towards the shipping area B.

Goliath reached the door leading to the outer shipping area after the others had already gotten there. Amid the various boxes and crates, Goliath made out the figure of Hudson bending over something, and the others crowding around them. Goliath ran towards them. As he approached, he saw Dr. Alban covered in his own blood, and his head being held by Hudson.

"What is going on here!" Goliath bellowed.

"Lad, Goliath is here now. What did'ye want to tell him?" Hudson asked the doctor in a quiet voice. Dr. Alban struggled to raise his head slightly higher to see Goliath's angry face. Goliath crouched to the floor where the doctor was expiring before their eyes. Angela and Broadway were holding each other, Lexington was shaking his head, and Brooklyn wore a terrible scowl on his face.

"What is it, Doctor? Do you need to tell me why you nearly killed Elisa tonight?" Goliath asked bitterly, feeling happy that Dr. Alban had been shot and that the wound looked mortal. The entire clan gasped at this news. Apparently, there was no time for Owen to mention that part of the equation to them: only that they were needed at the shipping area. The doctor's face showed remorse.

"She survived? Dear God, it's a miracle!" He cried out in great relief. He hadn't killed Elisa after all. Despite his relief, he was unable to look Goliath or any other gargoyle surrounding him in the eye. He felt total shame for his actions, and couldn't blame them for the looks of hate that were emitted from the others.

"Yes, she lives." Gasps followed those of shock seconds before. "But why did you do it? And where is Adam?" He asked, lowering his face to force Dr. Alban to look him in the eye. He did, reluctantly.

"Dominic Dracon blackmailed me and made me kidnap his grandson for him. He also made me administer the poison that should have killed Elisa. I'm so very sorry, Goliath. I should have never done it, even if he'd kill me and my family. I can die knowing that Elisa is safe…"

"Dominic Dracon? I thought he was in prison for all that he did to Matt and Elisa during our Silver Falcon case!" Broadway interjected.

"He broke out right before Elisa was kidnapped." Dr. Alban said and then nearly passed out at this moment, but Goliath shook him by his lab coat. "I tried to stall things, Goliath. I assure you that I did." Dr. Alban pleaded as he looked at Goliath with eyes rich with guilt. "The baby was born early in the afternoon. If Dracon had had his way, he'd already be long gone by now. I only told him that Elisa had her child about two hours ago, after I knew that you all were awake. Please save her child, Goliath." He began to sob, sensing the end of his life coming upon swift wings.

"Where are they!" Brooklyn rumbled in a threatening way, and leaning towards Dr. Alban.

"Dracon wants to take the baby to Lisbon, Portugal." He replied quietly. His tone was now becoming quieter, calmer, and less pleading. "He said he has a compound there, like the one Tony had…they were on their way to the airfield upstate when he…" Dr. Alban struggled to breathe briefly. "…he shot me and threw me out…At least I can die knowing Elisa is safe…" He suddenly had a serene look on his face. Goliath recognized these words to be his last. He released his lab coat, and rose from his position. Hudson lowered Dr. Alban's head to the ground and shook his head. The clan looked towards their leader, who had definite signs on his face that he had been through the proverbial ringer this evening, and it wasn't over yet.

"Father, what are we to do?" Angela asked emotionally. Goliath looked over the clan.

"Angela, please stay with Elisa. When she awakens, you must tell her what has happened. The rest of us will go to the airfield. We must stop Dracon's plans before they come to fruition. Come!" He immediately began to scale the wall. He was instantly followed by the other members of the clan. Angela went through the door, hurrying as fast as she could to get to Elisa's room.

**_Elisa's room, 11:02pm_**

The beeping was now a rhythmic and healthy-sounding beep. Elisa was stable, and almost conscious. Angela reached her room, and pulled the chair closer to her bedside. She watched as Elisa's stomach, now significantly reduced in size, rose and fell with each breath. Angela smiled slightly, thankful that Elisa was breathing on her own, and that she was stable. Elisa's face wore a calm and tranquil look.

"Oh, Elisa, if you only knew…" Angela thought aloud, causing Elisa to drift out of her unconscious state.

"Hmmm….?" Elisa murmured, shifting slightly in the bed under the covers and shaking her head momentarily. Her eyes opened slowly. She was expecting to see Goliath beside her, but instead, she saw his sweet and compassionate daughter in his place. The last Elisa remembered was Goliath sitting where Angela now sat, telling her about what they would do together with Adam once she was ready to be released.

"Um, what's going on? Where's Goliath?" Elisa questioned, narrowing her eyes at Angela. She looked uncomfortable with the question but knew it had to be answered. She had a right to know where the two favourite men in her life were.

"Elisa, first, promise me you'll be calm when I tell you this…" Angela stated cautiously. Elisa nodded, but squinted in suspicion.

"Goliath and the clan are searching for Adam. Dr. Alban kidnapped him."

"WHAT!" Elisa screamed, causing Angela to jump from her seat. "What do you mean? Oh my God." Elisa instantly became emotional, and the tears began to form in her eyes. Angela tried to soothe her. She put on taloned hand on her wrist.

"Elisa, please relax. Father has gone to find him. Dominic Dracon has him…" Angela couldn't finish her thought, because Elisa began sobbing mournfully. Angela thought this was completely out of character for Elisa, who never showed any signs of emotion to anyone, save Goliath, but this nature of hers obviously changed when she gave birth to Adam. Logical characterizations and assumptions will have to be thrown out the window from now on, Angela thought.

"D-Dominic D-D-Dracon? He's out of jail? Oh God, I'll never see my son again…" Elisa moaned. Angela patted her hand sympathetically.

"Don't say that, Elisa. Goliath and the others are going to the airfield to get him back. We have to stay strong. That's why I am here. Please try to relax." Elisa tried to rise from her laying position on the hospital-style bed, but Angela placed a concerned hand on her shoulders. Elisa shot her a heated look.

"How can I relax, exactly, Angela? My son is in the hands of a criminal, and if they are allowed to take off, I'll never know where they have gone…" Elisa shot at her, with bitterness dripping off her tone.

"Well, Dr. Alban told us that Dominic is planning on taking Adam to Portugal…" The mention of that country sent chills down Elisa's entire being. Just remembering what was done to her while upon that soil made her cringe. She tightly closed her eyes.

"…oh God…my baby…" Elisa stated. Angela's normally calm face showed signs of torment. She had no words to soothe Elisa. Everything she said was causing Elisa to retreat deeper within herself. Angela decided only to hold Elisa's hand and await further instructions from Goliath over the communicator. Perhaps when he had good news, it would snap Elisa out of this trance-like state she was in.  
They sat in silence, save for the occasional sobs Elisa let slip from her otherwise silent mouth.

**_11:45pm _**

As the clan soared through the summer sky, all of them were silent, though they all wanted to ask a thousand questions of Goliath about Elisa's condition. Broadway was the first to attempt to get a word out of Goliath. He cleared his throat and began probing for information from his soon-to-be father-in-law of sorts.

"Goliath, what happened to Elisa?" This caused Brooklyn to gain some confidence and chime in.

"Yea, Goliath. Tell us. What did he do?"

Goliath turned his head mid flight towards his clan, who soared to his right, sighed heavily, and began.

"He poisoned her. Her heart stopped beating for what felt like a millennium. I called for someone on the communicator but…"

"Aye, lad, I heard the communicator buzzing 'bout something, but before I could reach it, it had already stopped." Hudson confirmed.

"Yes, well, Puck appeared suddenly. He had seen the doctor loading Adam into the vehicle and drive off. He then got Alex and appeared before I could even call his name." Goliath shook his head. "If Puck had not appeared…"

"So, does that mean her wish from Puck is used?" Lexington asked curiously.

"No, she uttered no words, and I was the one who summoned him to come. The wish remains in tact." Goliath added.

As they glided over an empty field, they saw blinking lights below, as well as a small building which was maybe only 3 floors tall. It looked dilapidated and ready to collapse.

"A runway! This must be it!" Broadway exclaimed, pointing at the lights beneath them.

"How do you know?" Lexington asked, confused.

"It looks exactly like the runways in the movies." Broadway replied. Goliath agreed.

"Aye, and look down there! The black limousine Owen told me of. That must be Dominic!" He almost yelled. "Now, everyone remember, if you see Adam, make sure he is not harmed, but get him to safety." Goliath commanded. His tone was stern, nearly unforgiving, but the clan knew that just came from being concerned about Elisa and her son. Their formation broke and the clan scattered in all directions. Goliath made a bee-line towards the limousine.

A frail looking Dominic Dracon sat in his limousine as it slowed down and then stopped on the runway, just steps away from his private jet. The runway was illuminated only by a couple of high light poles, which emitted putrid-seeming yellow light. He had arranged to come to this particular airfield so as not to be noticed while taking the child away. The light was just enough to see a few metres in front of the limousine—perfect visibility in Dominic's mind.

In his arms, he held a small 6 pound, 3 ounce newborn child. The child was fast asleep, a common activity for newborns, in Dominic's arms. Every so often, Dominic looked down at his grandson's face to see if there were any resemblances to Tony. The child's hair was black almost to the point of being midnight blue, and his skin tone was darker than Tony's had been. Much to his displeasure, there were no common features that he could see offhand, but Dominic convinced himself that this would change over time. Just then, the intercom went off. The driver of the limousine was calling Dominic.

"Sir, we have a problem."

He sighed.

"What is it!" Dominic replied, annoyed.

"Um, those creatures you told me about…"

Dominic looked out the tinted window and could make out at least 5 winged gargoyles charging the limousine from the sky.

"Blast those infernal creatures! Call in our backup! We must be able to take off!"

"Right away, Sir."

On his lap, the baby was stirring. Dominic began rocking him, but then the child screamed in the newborn fashion. Dominic continued rocking him back and forth, gently but with more effort, to try to silence the child. These creatures, he told himself, were here to take the child away, and if the child continues to scream, they'll know to attack this car…

The baby's cries could be heard clearly by all the members of the clan. All of them immediately zoomed towards the limousine. Each landing beside the limousine, they began to claw at the windows and doors in the faint light surrounding them. With each passing second of Adam's screams becoming louder, they clawed with more ferocity.

"Dominic! You must release Elisa's child! Do it now, otherwise, suffer our vengeance!" A powerful voice threatened from outside of the vehicle, with only inches of bullet-proof metal separating them.

_Too late,_ Dominic thought. _They know the child is in here…oh well…better take them out before we take off. Damn that turncoat, Alban. He shouldn't have voiced his disapproval of my plan. He probably led these monsters straight to us. No matter. Anthony sr.'s whore is dead, and my grandson, fidgety as he is, is where he belongs—with me._

Within the limousine, Dominic was becoming impatient, both with the child, and with these gargoyles destroying the exterior of his car. Also, the backup was late.

"What do I pay you for! Get out there and deal with them!" He called out to the driver of the limousine.

"But…uh…sir, I would be outnumbered 6 to 1, and those things are far bigger than I am! Plus, uh…I can't see shit in this darkness!" The driver called back. Dominic pressed a button, which caused the window separating the driver and himself to lower. He then threw the driver a nickel plated Taurus 9mm.

"Use your imagination, young man! Now go!" The driver caught the weapon in the air, looked at it briefly, then nodded. He silently counted to three, then burst out of the car. Gunshots bellowed in the air, making Dominic very happy.

As this man came out shooting, he managed to miss all the members of the clan entirely because of the sheer lack of visibility, except for grazing Lexington's shoulder. After witnessing this, even while trying to flee from the spray of bullets, Brooklyn charged at the gunman and tackled him to the ground, causing him to lose hold of the gun and skid it across the gravel beneath them. Once Brooklyn had a fair grasp on the gunman, he looked back at Lexington. "You alright, Lex?"

"Yeah, just a nick. Nothing big. Thanks." Lexington replied, pressing his hands to his shoulder wound. Meanwhile, the others were still clawing at the limousine, as Adam hadn't yet stopped crying.

"This damn limo must be bullet proof and everything-else-proof too!" Broadway mused.

Just then, the sounds of laser weaponry being fired were heard behind them. They once again scattered in search of shelter from the lasers. Goliath, Hudson and Lexington scaled a wall as quickly as possible, gained a wind current and glided out of the sight of the laser-toting goons, while Brooklyn, Broadway and Bronx charged at the gunmen at full speed. They reached the goons in time to knock a few on their backs. There were nearly 20 armed men rushing from the four other cars that had just parked metres away. Brooklyn, Broadway and Bronx didn't very much like those odds, so they made a run for it. They ran towards the dilapidated building, with the hopes that they would have time to scale it and gain the power of attack from the skies than from the ground. Bronx ran into the building first, followed by Broadway and Brooklyn. Once inside, they noted that nothing was inside this room; only cupboards and wall fixtures remained. Broadway motioned to Bronx to follow him deeper into the room.

"Homey. Very homey." Brooklyn said sarcastically.

"As long as we're in here, we can attack them on our own terms." Broadway replied.

_12:26am _

The moon was no where to be seen. Angela looked out the window in Elisa's medical ward room, wondering what was happening with her clan. She was tempted to use the communicator and call Goliath, but she worried that she might be a distraction. Right now, Goliath needed all the concentration in the world. Angela turned back to Elisa, who was staring up at the ceiling with tears falling from her eyes every few minutes. She had stopped crying now, and was seemingly lost in thought, or fascinated by something on the ceiling. Angela knew that Elisa's thoughts were on her son. Sighing, Angela took Elisa's hand again. Elisa jumped in surprise. She had forgotten Angela was in the room. Elisa wiped away the last tears her eyes had shed and looked at Angela.

"Oh, Angela. I'm sorry…I'm just…"

Angela shook her head. "It's alright, Elisa. You seemed far away just now." Elisa looked almost embarrassed by her escape into her thoughts.

"I was. I was thinking about Adam. I didn't really get a good look at him before…the doctor took him away. I wonder if he'll look like Tony at all…"

"As much as I hate the thought of that even happening, you will get a chance to see for yourself. Father and the others will bring him home. I know it." Angela promised, keeping an optimistic sound to her voice. She was about to say something else inspiring when the communicator buzzed. She and Elisa both looked down to the small circular disc in Angela's hand. The earpiece in Angela's ear would only allow her to hear whoever it was buzzing, so Elisa just watched as Angela touched the communicator to turn it on, and waited for Angela to relay the information given.

"Father?" Angela asked hopefully. It was, in fact, Goliath.

"Angela, how is Elisa?" Angela met Elisa's gaze and smiled ever so slightly.

"She's fine. She's awake. Would you like to speak to her?"

"Most definitely, yes. Thank you, daughter." With that, Angela pulled the earpiece out and handed it to Elisa.

"He wants to talk to you, Elisa." She smiled. Elisa numbly took the earpiece and placed it in her left ear. She then took the circular disc from Angela's grasp into which she would speak.

"Goliath?" A weak voice asked.

"My love, how are you feeling?"

"Alright." It was all she could say. Goliath waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he said, "We have surrounded Dominic Dracon's limousine. Adam is inside of it. It will not be long until we have returned your son to you, Elisa." He said this confidently with the hopes that his confidence would inspire a positive feeling within Elisa. It succeeded. Angela watched as her eyes opened wider than they had been, and she even heard Elisa's breathing become more energetic.

"Goliath, please be careful…but for God's sake, bring my son back!" She said, again breaking down to tears.

On the other end of the communicator, Goliath could hear Elisa's sobs. Each one broke his heart, the sounds of her sorrow causing his anger and frustration to mount to unbelievable heights. His eyes glowed white with fury, then softened again when he heard Elisa calling to him.

"Goliath? Are you there?" She asked between residual sobs.

"Yes, my love, I am here. I swear to you that I will bring Adam back to you. Upon my love for you, I swear." He heard a sigh, possibly of comfort, and then he heard the rustling of tissue paper. She was wiping her eyes.

"Be careful out there, Big Guy." The non-catatonic Elisa had returned.

"I will. Rest now, angel. You need to regain your strength. I will check back with you in a while."

"I love you, Goliath." She whispered, almost in the hopes of being inaudible to his daughter. Angela, however, had heard it, and was smiling happily at Elisa.

"And I, you, Elisa. I just—watch out!" Goliath screamed to someone. Elisa sat up straight in the bed.

"Goliath! What happened? Goliath!" Elisa screamed.

_**A minute earlier…**_

Dominic Dracon grabbed his cellular phone and dialled a number.

"Fire the lasers into that building over there. There are three of them in there, and if you haven't noticed, it's about ready to collapse anyways. Once that's done, we can take off. The other three seem occupied with my men. Hurry!"

Brooklyn, Bronx and Broadway walked around the rickety building, hoping to see something that would aid them in their attack. Brooklyn looked out through a small window overlooking the private jet before them. He could clearly make out the figures of some armed goons approaching. All were carrying large laser weapons, though he couldn't make out exactly what kind they were in the faint light. He motioned for the others to take a look.

"They are coming here. Wait! They are firing…What do they think they're doing?" Brooklyn pointed at the approaching goons. Broadway shrugged, listening to the lasers hitting the sides of the building, damaging the bricks and causing the structure to become even more unstable than before.

"I don't know, but I think we need to get out of this closed space. We're sitting ducks here." The three scrambled around until a large blast was heard, and then the smashing of brick and glass could be heard all around them. The building collapsed on itself, burying all three gargoyles within it.

A large puff of smoke and dust stirred up as the structure collapsed. The debris from the fallen building sprayed all over, causing the men to shield their eyes from it. After the dust had settled, the goons waved their guns, quite pleased with themselves. As they celebrated their success, a few thugs were broadsided by a very large and very angry purple gargoyle, while a green one and a tanned-skinned one took care of the others. As they fought, Lexington saw the rubble from the building beginning to move. Broadway's hand could be seen pushing away brick and glass to get out. Soon after, Bronx was clawing his way out, too. Lexington stopped his battle and ran over to them.

"Thank the dragon you are both alright! But where is Brooklyn?" Broadway looked around him, still trying to shake the dust off of him.

"He's still in there! We have to get him out!" Before they could do that, a few more goons came out of the woodwork, toting the same laser weapons the others had, and opened fire upon all three. They spread out, nearly forgetting that they needed to get Brooklyn out from the rubble.

Goliath dropkicked another goon wearing a black suit, and broke his laser weapon into half by slamming it upon his knee.

"You won't be needing this." He mocked angrily. Suddenly, the sounds of the jet starting up could be heard.

"No!" Goliath yelled, and made a mad dash towards the jet, which was nearly 20 metres away from him.

Dominic Dracon was standing in the small doorway of the plane, holding Adam Maza in his feeble arms, watching the action unfold. The plane turned towards the runway and began picking up speed. Dominic chuckled to himself.

"Soon, Anthony, you will be at home, and you will truly be a Dracon."

To be Concluded...Stay tuned for A Child is Born part 3...

Comments are always welcome!  
Tima


	9. Chapter 9: A Child is Born Part 3

**_Disclaimer: I created Adam O'Riley, Fast Eddie and any others that don't sound familiar to you. Everyone else is owned by those geniuses over at Disney. These stories are written for pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please_**

_**A Child is Born Part 3**_

_The airfield, upstate New York…1:53am_

Dominic Dracon chuckled loudly as he looked down at his grandson in his arms. He was feeling quite pleased with himself: he was about ten minutes away from taking off with the child. Elisa Maza Dracon was finally dead and gone, and this was exactly what he wanted. Not only was it better that she be dead to ensure she'd never chase after Dominic and her son, but also, that money that Tony Dracon was going to be receiving after their marriage was now in the hands of the Dracon lawyer in Portugal, waiting to change hands. Now that she was dead (or so he thought) the money would then go to Tony's next of kin—his son. "Perfect," Dominic thought aloud. He looked out on the scene as the small private jet began rolling slowly down the runway and grinned.

Suddenly he felt a large and powerful hand grasp at his ankle. He braced himself and held onto the doorframe, with the fear that this monster would pull him out of the plane. He held on tightly to Adam. Instantly, as if on cue, Adam began crying furiously.

"Let go of me, monster! You have no claim to this child!" Dominic shouted, shaking his leg furiously, trying to loosen Goliath's grip on it.

"He is the son of my beloved! I have more of a claim to this child than you!" Goliath growled back, keeping his hold on Dominic's fragile-feeling ankle. The plane began to turn, aiming towards the runway. A voice came on the intercom. It was the driver. He was going to fly the plane.

"Sir, we are about to take off."

"Good! You can't win! We are leaving now, and my grandson comes along with me!" Dominic exclaimed, kicking at Goliath's hand.

**_Meanwhile…_**

Ever since the communicator was cut off, Elisa could not sleep, eat, or say anything with the worry that was consuming her. She was no longer hiding within herself, but now something else gripped her: the fear that the two people she loved the most wouldn't return to her this night terrorized her and haunted her waking moments. Every few minutes, Elisa would look out into the night sky, showcased by her window, and pray that she would see Goliath gliding towards her, holding Adam in his ever-guarding arms. But every time she did this, she was disappointed.

Angela sat beside her, talking to her, trying to keep her from going insane with worry. Though she had only the best intentions, Angela could not replace Elisa's need for Goliath's presence in the room with her. Angela sensed it every time Elisa would look out the window expectantly.

A few moments of silence gave way to Angela deciding to break the silence.

"Elisa?"

Elisa turned to face Angela. She smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, Angela?" Elisa saw something serene in Angela's look, like she somehow knew everything would be fine.

"I hope you don't mind me being bold, but—"

"Please, Angela. What is it?"

Angela smiled.

"Goliath loves you. I mean, he would do anything to bring you back your son. Don't worry." She smiled again, causing a hearty smile to come from Elisa.

"I know he will. But anything could happen. I—" Elisa stopped dead. Angela furrowed her brow spurs.

"What?"

"Goliath would do anything to get Adam back. That's what I have to prevent!" She said with a sudden burst of energy. She shot straight up in bed, causing Angela to jump slightly with shock, and a bit of confusion. Elisa was already trying to swing herself out of the bed when Angela's hand swiftly went to Elisa's shoulder, and gently pushed her back to the bed.  
"Whoa, there, Elisa. You can't go anywhere right now. You just went through a lot!" Angela cried. She didn't know exactly what Elisa meant by 'anything', but still knew that she shouldn't be out of bed after the ordeal she had just undergone.

Elisa shook her head vehemently. "I'm fine! And I need to be there, Angela. Please take me there, to the airfield?" Elisa asked calming her voice down and sounding almost sweet. Angela shook her head.

"Elisa, if anything were to happen to you over there…and besides, Goliath told me to stay with you here…"

"Angela, I'm not asking you to disobey orders, but if I were, I think Goliath would understand. Please, Angela? Take me to the airfield?" Elisa asked once more. Angela turned her head to look into the night sky through the window one last time before exhaling and saying quietly, "ok, Elisa. Let's go."

**_2:31am_**

In the air a few yards away, Broadway was dodging the laser fire from two goons, while Lexington was throwing rocks at the goons from the ground as he hid behind a tree. He still wasn't able to become airborne because of his injury. Bronx was charging at Hudson's set of thugs. Hudson had been able to disarm them at least, but was having no further luck with them. Bronx flew into one thug, causing a yelp of pain to come from the man, and his laser gun to skid across the ground. Bronx growled angrily at the terrified goon. He had never seen a gargoyle beast before. As Bronx had this goon cornered, another one was aiming his laser gun a few feet away at the beast. Broadway saw this and swooped in, while still dodging laser fire and tackled the cowardly thug, causing him to knock his head on the ground beneath him as he fell. He was rendered unconscious. Broadway surveyed his accomplishment and cleaned his hands in pride. Lexington landed just a few steps away from them, carrying a laser gun in his hand.

"How many more left, you think?" Lexington asked, sounding seemingly out of breath.

"Uh, well, we just took out three, Hudson is over there keeping the other 5 busy, and—" Broadway paused, his eyes suddenly widened. "The plane is moving! Look!" Broadway pointed to the private jet that was slowly rolling down the landing strip.

"Goliath is hanging off of the door there! We have to stop that plane from taking off!" Lexington exclaimed. Just then, Hudson joined them on the ground.  
"Where does he think that he be goin' just now?" Hudson asked, referring to the jet.

"We have to stop it! Come on!" Broadway exclaimed, and took off on all fours towards the plane, followed by Lexington, Hudson and Bronx.  
Hudson, Broadway and Lexington reached the jet as it began picking up speed. Goliath still hung out of the doorway, holding onto the seemingly-frail old man's ankle.

Hudson scaled the side of the plane until he reached the cockpit area. The pilot was ready for him, however. He withdrew from a box right beside him a large handgun, and stupidly opened fire upon the creature that was trying to claw its way into the cockpit. Hudson dodged the first shot, and used the hole in the glass of the jet to break the rest of the glass and make his way inside the cockpit. The pilot was now unprepared for this development, and screamed.

"Stop this airplane!" Hudson shouted. The pilot shook his head and reached for the steering device. He was intending on making the plane plough forward even faster. Hudson grabbed the other side of the steering device and pulled it towards him, as the pilot did the same and pulled it towards himself. This caused the plane to jerk suddenly. Hudson staggered forwards, then backwards, and then levelled himself by holding onto the control panel in front of him, while attempting to grab the pilot. The pilot grabbed the steering column again and pulled it with greater force towards him and shifted a white coloured knob beside it. The plane then picked up speed and felt as if it had hit a bump in the road. They had skidded off the runway and were now headed for the bumpy terrain of the open field.

Lexington and Broadway, meanwhile, were about to help Goliath when the goons resumed their attack on them, opening fire upon the small jet on which they clung to.

"Guess they just woke up!" Lexington mused as he and Broadway became airborne and dodged the laser fire of four goons from the ground below once more.

Lexington used his charging again and struck one of the armed men down, destroying his weapon while he was at it. Broadway took advantage and knocked two others down as he propelled himself at them at full speed. As he gained his footing on the ground, he could tell the three of them were out cold. The fourth one had fled.

"Run you coward!" Lexington yelled at the fleeing goon. Broadway and Lexington then focused upon the jet, which was now gaining speed and was no longer on a flat surface. They ran towards it to help as best they could.

_**A few moments earlier…**_

A distance away from the action, in the midst of a pile of rubble that once was a rickety building, a creature was stirring by the name of Brooklyn. Luckily, when the building collapsed, he had been under a support beam (at least it used to be one) and that prevented more debris to fall on him than had already fallen. His head pounded, and he definitely had a sprained wrist, but he was otherwise fine. As he slowly pulled himself out of the dirt and debris, he heard the sounds of laser fire in the short distance. Narrowing his eyes upon the scene, he saw the small jet rolling, two gargoyles were gliding away from laser fire, and Goliath still holding onto the frail ankle of Dominic Dracon. Brooklyn focused upon the precious cargo held within Dominic's arms. It was Adam. Brooklyn continued to dust himself off carefully until the motion of the jet caught his attention once again. Not only was the plane rolling down the runway, but now it seemed to be swerving to and fro, causing Dominic to stumble slightly. Brooklyn thought for a split second, then his instinct told him that he needed to be there at that very moment, so he began sprinting on all fours towards the jet as it slowly was picking up speed, and swerved back and forth.

Only a few seconds later, he reached the plane and saw that it had lost control and was now ploughing off of the smooth surface of the runway, causing Dominic to stumble again but this time, his feeble legs couldn't sustain his weight as the plane shook. Goliath held onto Dominic's leg and pulled him out of the doorway of the moving plane. Brooklyn jumped up and yanked the crying and tormented newborn out of his grandfather's arms just as Dominic fell onto the hard grassy field. Brooklyn saw that Goliath's eyes were burning bright white as he grabbed Dominic by the neck and raised him nearly 5 feet off of the ground. Broadway, Lexington and Hudson landed right beside Goliath, panting. Brooklyn was entranced by the child he held in his strong and powerful arms. Adam had instantly ceased his cries, and now seemed to be dozing. Lexington and Broadway only noticed Brooklyn holding the child as they landed. They both walked over to him. Broadway patted him on the shoulder with a sense of relief underlying his motion.

"Thank the dragon you're alright!"

Lexington nodded, and smiled toothily. "Yeah! How are you feeling?"

Brooklyn looked up at them and shrugged. "I'll survive. But we should be concerned with Elisa's son here. Wow. He's tiny, isn't he?" Brooklyn replied. The others nodded dreamily. Goliath turned his attention to Brooklyn briefly.

"Brooklyn, take Adam back to the Eyrie. Elisa will be relieved to—" A voice yelling into his ear interrupted his thought.

"Goliath! Where are you?" It was Angela's voice.

"Angela? We are still at the airfield."

"Good. We're almost there." Goliath looked up into the sky, as his hand still held Dominic Dracon high above the ground.

"We?" He asked aloud.

"What is it, lad?" Hudson asked. Goliath pointed to the sky above them.

"Angela said she will be here shortly." He looked annoyed almost. He had a feeling Elisa would be joining them shortly, courtesy of Angela. The clan understood this annoyance in his look.

"Why are you mad about that?" Brooklyn asked, rocking the newborn slowly in his arms. He was really enjoying his stint as a babysitter.

"She said 'we'. That can only mean…" Goliath trailed off as his gaze caught the form of a gargoyle gliding through the night air holding someone. Though Goliath was happy to see Elisa, this wasn't the place for her right now. They were just fighting armed men who were hired by Dominic Dracon, and, needless to say, if they saw her alive, they wouldn't worry too much for her well being. They could see that Elisa was just wearing a set of blue pyjamas, consisting of a tank top and a pair of sweat pants that Fox had lent her. Her hair was tied in a pony tail and she looked exhausted. This was accentuated by the dark circles beginning to form under her usually lively and lovely eyes.

"Here they come now." Lexington pointed. As he did this, the goon that had fled took aim and began firing at the female gargoyle.

"Angela!" Broadway cried out as he ran towards them. The others ran towards the gunman and knocked him over, rendering him unconscious like the rest of his colleagues, but not before he had gotten a clean shot at Angela. The laser fire penetrated her left wing, causing a hole to form on her wing and for Angela to begin to plummet to the ground.

"Angela! Elisa!" Goliath yelled, dropping Dominic Dracon and rushing towards the falling females. Dominic wasted no time. He crawled towards his limousine, which was basically in the opposite direction that the gargoyles were rushing towards. He would get to the limo, grab the spare snub nosed .38 revolver he had in there, and demand his grandson back, or at least kill Elisa. If that infernal doctor hadn't have messed up her murder, Dominic wouldn't have to do it himself, but oh well, he thought. "If you want something done right, do it yourself." He said aloud as he crawled undetected away from the gargoyles. It wouldn't be long until he reached the limousine.

As Angela tried to re-catch the current of wind with her incomplete wing, she faltered and couldn't hold onto Elisa any longer. They both tumbled towards the ground for what felt like ages until they were both caught seconds before they would have hit. Broadway had managed to catch Angela without further hurting her wing, but she was cringing in pain. Elisa was caught by Goliath, but her momentum caused them both to hurtle to the ground.

Elisa opened her eyes and looked above her to see her saviour, as always. Goliath smiled as he saw her eyes opening.

"My Elisa, are you alright?" He asked as he caressed her face. She coughed, and said, "Oh just wonderful." jokingly. Looking around suddenly, she asked, "Where did Dracon go?" Apparently, the others had forgotten all about him. Goliath rose instantly, and said, "I will go and find him, my love." He then walked briskly towards the limousine, which was the only place he could have gone.

"Goliath! No!" Elisa called, but Goliath had already gone out of earshot.

Goliath noticed the door to the limousine was wide open.

"Come out, Dominic! I haven't time for your games!" Just then, the sound of a gun cocking could be heard. The end of a gun, followed by Dominic poked out of the limousine. He got out and pointed the gun squarely on Goliath's chest. Goliath wasn't the least bit shocked, but instead was actually laughing inside his head. This would be too easy, he thought.

"Blast that doctor for not killing her when he had the chance!" Dominic said, motioning his head to Elisa, who was being helped up by the others.

Goliath decided that no further words would be uttered by Dominic and lunged at him, grabbing his gun and tossing it nearly 20 feet away. He then grabbed the old man again by the neck and walked over to the others.

Elisa was being supported by Hudson, while Angela, who was still in a fair bit of pain due to her wing, was being held by Broadway.

"Elisa! What do you wish me to do to this mongrel?" Goliath asked as he shook the flailing figure under his grasp. She shook her head.

"Nothing, Goliath. Matt and the other cops will be here soon"  
Goliath didn't like that answer. "But Elisa! This man kidnapped your son and tried to have you killed! Surely—"

"Let the law handle him, Goliath. Please. Put him down." The sirens began to sound. "Please Goliath." She said once more. This did the trick. He released Dominic and threw him to the ground. Lexington and Bronx walked over to him to keep an eye on him. Goliath then walked over to Elisa, took her hand, and picked her up in an embrace.

"Thank you, Big Guy." She breathed as he held her tightly.

"I would do anything for you, my love." He looked at her face, which was once again radiant, at least to Goliath. Brooklyn stepped up to them, cleared his throat and turned to Elisa.

"Elisa, I think someone missed his mom." He said quietly but happily. Elisa's eyes lit up instantly at the sight of her son. She thought she might not ever see this precious baby again, yet here he was. She joyfully took Adam from Brooklyn's arms and held her son for the first time since he had been taken from her so hastily hours before. Elisa's eyes released tears of relief and happiness as she held her son closely to her. The clan gathered around to see this breathtaking sight and smiles were plentiful.

**_4:16 am_**

The police arrived a few moments after the gargoyles had left, and had arrested Dominic, all the armed men and the pilot with attempted abduction and attempted murder, and had also laid the charge of the murder of Dr. Alban on Dominic. Matt had taken the liberty of driving Elisa home, but not before she and Adam were checked out at St. Francis hospital and were allowed to go home. Adam, thankfully, had sustained no injuries during his abduction, so he was allowed to go home with Elisa that very night.  
Elisa was now home with her son. She studied his face, she studied the way his tuft of hair was kinked, and she even studied the bottoms of his feet. Elisa was overjoyed to have her son finally with her, after all those months of waiting and preparation. She was watching him as he lay in his crib when she heard a gentle tap on the window in the living room. Goliath.

She walked over to the window and saw that the entire clan was with them, with the exception of Hudson and Bronx. Wordlessly, she opened the sliding window and allowed them all entry into the apartment. She noticed that there was a bandage wrapped around Angela's wingtip.

"How is that feeling?" Elisa asked Angela as she stepped inside the apartment.

"Better. I'm sorry about letting you fall, Elisa." She looked shameful, but Elisa just smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, Angela. I'm fine." She then turned to the rest of the clan.

"You guys want to see him up close?" Elisa beamed with pride as she led the clan deeper into the apartment to Adam's room. One by one, the gargoyles crammed into the darkened room to get a glimpse of the sleeping prince.

Lexington was mystified by the child, as were the others. Angela was the first to say what the others were thinking.

"He looks like you, Elisa. He is beautiful." The clan collectively nodded and agreed.

"I'd like to think so, too. Regardless of how he looks, though, he's perfect. He's home, and safe, and perfect." She sighed contentedly. Just then, Adam felt a hunger pain, and began crying the sweet, innocent cry of a newborn. Elisa smiled, as she had a feeling this cry was due to his hunger.

"Alright, everyone. That's my cue to feed this little guy." She picked him up in her arms gently and walked with them to the living room of the apartment. They understood that their short visit was cut even shorter than they were planning, but they didn't mind a bit. Sunrise was only forty five minutes away. They said their goodbyes. Brooklyn was about to exit when Elisa stopped him.

"Brook, can I ask something of you?"

"Uh, sure, Elisa. What is it?"

She looked as if she didn't know where to begin.

"Well, firstly, thanks for taking care of Adam while all of that craziness happened. If you weren't there, I would probably have lost my son tonight."

Brooklyn smiled. "It was no problem, Elisa. He's a cute kid. Takes after his mother, I bet." He kidded.

"You were great with him—which is why I wanted to ask if you would be Adam's guardian. Well, I would really call it being his godfather. And I know the clan will always be there for him, but I was thinking that you could kind of be to Adam what Lex is to Alex. What do you say?"

Brooklyn stopped to contemplate this, then smiled.

"Sure Elisa. I'm honoured. Thanks." He reached to hold Adam's hand, and allowed the infant to grab onto his talon. Elisa smiled. "Thanks a lot Brook."

He then walked out of the apartment. Goliath was about to say goodbye then when Elisa stopped him, too.

"Stay with me? At least until right before sunrise?" Goliath was pleased, but wondered why she wanted him to stay.

"I just want to spend some time with my two favourite guys in the world." She grinned. Goliath took her free hand and sat down beside her as she prepared to feed Adam. Goliath smiled, kissed Elisa on the forehead, looked down at Adam with a smile, and inhaled.

"Certainly, my Elisa."

* * *


End file.
